http://www.citizensvoice.com/site/ne...d=571464&rfi=6


02/25/2007
Civil rights group threatens action
— NICHOLE DOBO

A civil rights group has threatened legal action against a Schuylkill County school district, saying it is illegally trying to ban illegal immigrant children from attending the school.

The Tamaqua Area School District formed a policy in January that would require all children to provide social security cards for enrollment — a violation federal law established with a Supreme Court case, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund said in a letter sent Friday to the district. That 1982 federal ruling specifically states all children, even illegal immigrants, are entitled to a free public education.

Larry Wittig, the president of the Tamaqua Area School Board, could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund said in its letter that it will take legal action against the district unless it specifically states in its enrollment procedures that proof of legal immigration status is not needed to enroll or remain in the school. The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund is one of the groups that have challenged Hazleton’s illegal immigration ordinance.