Thread: FOIA applies to noncitizens, experts say

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FOIA applies to noncitizens, experts say

By Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

As the immigration debate roils in Congress, one thing is certain, experts say: Noncitizens and even illegal immigrants have the same rights to open government as do U.S. citizens.
Federal and state laws are not specific when it comes to granting rights of civic participation, according to First Amendment scholars.

The Freedom of Information Act, a federal law enacted in 1966 that establishes the public's right to obtain information from public agencies, allows "any person" to file a written information request.

"Any person" includes U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, organizations, associations and universities, the law states.

In California, the Ralph M. Brown Act, the state's open meeting law, and the Public Records Act, refer to the rights of "persons" and "individuals," not citizens.

That is not an accident, experts say.

"The legislature plainly intended to disconnect access rights from citizenship -- to provide access rights to persons whether or not they are citizens," said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition.

Illegal immigrants aren't the only noncitizens to have rights under these laws, Scheer said.

"Corporations are very heavy users of the access laws, particularly the Public Records Act," Scheer said. "It's quite clear they have these rights even though they can't vote."

These rights impose few, if any, burdens, Scheer said.

One person's exercise of these rights does not come at another person's expense, he said.

Providing the rights of civic participation does not place demands on scarce government services or benefits, Scheer said.

"The quality of government decision making improves the more people insist on participating in it," Scheer said. "There's no such thing as too much government transparency."

But not everyone agrees that noncitizens and illegal immigrants should be granted rights to open government.

"It's hard to understand how somebody who has no right to even be in the country would presume to demand an equal say in how local government policies are made," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors reduced immigration levels.

The question of whether public schools should provide illegal immigrants with the same rights as citizens is not an abstract one.

Many parents of students are in the country illegally, but often their children were born in the United States and are citizens.

If parents were barred from attending and speaking at meetings of the school board because they are illegal immigrants, the schools would have no accountability, Scheer said.

"That's not just bad for the kids and their parents, it's bad for all citizens and it's bad for society at large," Scheer said.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that all students, regardless of their immigration status, are entitled to a free public education from kindergarten through 12th grade.

But Mehlman said that doesn't mean undocumented parents should have a voice in how school policies are decided and what curriculum should be taught.

"There's certainly nothing in the Supreme Court decision that implies that parents should have a right to have a say in the making of school policies and in general to have access to government policy-making decisions the way that citizens or legal residents do," Mehlman said.

Elsa Valdez, a board member in the San Bernardino City Unified School District, disagrees.

"You have to allow parents some level of participation so they can ensure that their children can have an adequate education," said Valdez, a sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino. "We have to have some mechanism and some process so the parents can do what is in the best interest of their children when it comes to education."

But not everyone agrees that noncitizens and illegal immigrants should be granted rights to open government.

Count me in with this group!

"You have to allow parents some level of participation so they can ensure that their children can have an adequate education," said Valdez, a sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino. "We have to have some mechanism and some process so the parents can do what is in the best interest of their children when it comes to education."


Since when do illegal Latinos give a damn about education? With the highest drop out rate, bar none, all they are concerned about is illegal hourly compensation for their illegal hourly presence! Education? The parents of all illegals should PAY for all costs to "educate" their drop-outs!

And parents should be "participating" in the educational process? You make me laugh! The illegal segment being addressed barely writes or reads Spanish, and certainly is not capable of thinking, acting, speaking, or writing in ENGLISH!

The mechanism or process that parents can participate in is their own repatriation and that of their failing children back to their countries of citizenship! Good riddens to the whole lot!