It was devastating news to many of us in higher education and, especially, to the 602 UT Pan American students who were brought to the U.S. as children and who have been praying for the opportunity to become citizens of the only country most have ever known.

Among them is Josse Alex Garrido, a courageous, passionate, and eloquent young man who risked deportation to tell his story publicly and to lead our students in support of the DREAM Act. On Saturday, Josse graduated with honors and a double major in psychology and philosophy, but his dreams of law school were tied up in the passage of the DREAM Act. His future is now very uncertain, as is the future of the 26 other "dreamers" who graduated with him.

At a time when we should all be celebrating, I go into the holidays worried for these young men and women.—I worry for their future and the future of so many others. And I worry that few of us know or remember that one of the first servicemen who gave his life in the Iraq war was an undocumented soldier who was born in Mexico but grew up in the U.S.—Specialist Rodrigo Gonzalez-Garza. His valor and allegiance to our country are embodied in our student "dreamers" who have overcome great odds and uncertainty to pursue their educational goals.

I, our students, and—I am certain—you, stand steadfastly behind our country, and I pledge also to continue to stand in solidarity with our students. ¡Mano a mano seguimos adelante!

Robert S. Nelsen
President