President Donald Trump formally rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program Tuesday.

In an email to the Washington University community Tuesday, Chancellor Mark Wrighton emphasized his wish for Congress to pass legislation to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program so that beneficiaries “can stay and continue to realize their full potential in this country.”

DACA, established through an executive order issued by former President Barack Obama’s administration in June 2012, allows certain undocumented immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit.

While current beneficiaries will not be immediately impacted, Trump called on members of Congress to replace the policy with legislation prior to DACA’s expiration date in six months, on March 5, 2018. Some current DACA recipients, also known as “Dreamers,” will be able to renew their legal status for an additional two years until Oct. 5.

Prior to the revocation, Wrighton urged Trump to extend DACA in a Sept. 1 letter, while emphasizing that Washington University would continue to welcome individuals from international backgrounds.

“Dismantling DACA would hurt vulnerable young people who have great potential to contribute much to the United States of America. As chancellor of a leading research university that draws the best and brightest minds…I believe that abandoning DACA would not be in our national interests,” Wrighton wrote in the letter. “[Washington University] will continue to welcome the most talented individuals from all countries to teach, study and carry out research and scholarship.”

In his email, Wrighton addressed several campus resources, including the Office of International Students and Scholars and the Washington University Police Department, that would support students if any changes to DACA were to affect them. He assured students that the University would work directly with anyone negatively impacted by the Trump administration’s changes.

Wrighton ended on a positive note, saying that the University has a long history of drawing students from around the world to our community and that it is because of these differences that Washington University is the strong academic institution that it is today.

“Our university draws strength through our differences,” Wrighton stated in the letter. “We have a long tradition of attracting talented people from all around the world to our community, and that will continue. It is on each of us to work to ensure that every member of our community feels welcome, included and empowered to succeed.