Harvard University student Jim Park, who was the first-ever recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to win the Rhodes Scholarship, said he fears he will not be allowed to return to the U.S. should he move to the United Kingdom to attend Oxford University, reports The Hill.
“If I leave, there’s a very real possibility that I won’t be able to come back. That’s the biggest fear for sure,” Park said. “I haven’t really thought about what that’s going to mean if I’m not allowed back.”
Park immigrated with his family from South Korea when he was 7 years old. He and hundreds of thousands of other “Dreamers” were granted protections under the Obama Administration. Park founded the nonprofit Higher Dreams in 2015 to support other Dreamers and students with permanent immigration status as they apply for college and seek out student loans. President Trump’s decision to roll back the program places young people like Park in jeopardy.
Aware of the risks associated with leaving the U.S. to further his education, Park claims he is “avoiding that question” of what will happen if he tries to return.
“I’m looking forward to having that unstructured time to think about these broader questions of who belongs in America and the value judgments we make about others,” Park commented. He graduated from Harvard in December.
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