Thread: Why we pay for K-12 education for illegal aliens

Why we pay for K-12 education for illegal aliens
June 15, 9:47 AM
Inger Eberhart
9 comments

Plyler v. Doe led the way to taxpayer funded K-12 education for illegal alien children

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View all » In a nutshell, Plyler vs. Doe (1982) is the reason taxpayers pay for K-12 education for illegal aliens.

The full case is entitled Plyler, Superintendent, Tyler Independent School District vs. Doe. The case landed in the Supreme Court and was decided on June 15, 1982.

Background
In 1975, Texas passed a Alien Children Education (ACE) law withholding state funds for the education of illegal immigrant children and authorizing local school districts not to enroll these children in public schools.

Two years later, lawyers filed suit in District Court on behalf of Mexican children who could not prove that they were legal immigrants and who had been excluded from the Tyler School District, claiming that ACE violates the rights of these children under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Similar suits were filed across Texas in 1978 and 1979. In 1980, a District Court found that ACE was unconstitutional. In 1981, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, and Texas appealed.

The question before the US Supreme Court was did Texas violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by denying to "undocumented school-age children the free public education that it provides to children who are citizens of the United States or legally admitted aliens."

Justice Brennan delivered the opinion of the Court and was joined by Justices Marshall, Blackmun, Powell and Stevens. In the opinion, Brennan wrote: "Since the late 19th century, the United States has restricted immigration into this country. Unsanctioned entry into the United States is a crime and those who have entered unlawfully are subject to deportation. But despite the existence of these legal restrictions, a substantial number of persons have succeeded in unlawfully entering the United States, and now live within various States, including the State of Texas.

The Court concluded that the 14th Amendment "is not confined to the protection of citizens." In supporting that conclusion, the Court also found that Texas's law "is directed against children, and imposes its discriminatory burden on the basis of a legal characteristic over which children can have little control. It is thus difficult to conceive of a rational justification for penalizing these children for their presence within the United States. Yet that appears to be precisely the effect of [the law]."

Texas argued that they wanted to preserve the "state's limited resources for the education of its lawful residents." However, the Court stated that "there is no evidence in the record suggesting that illegal entrants impose any significant burden on the State's economy."

The Court also concluded that by denying the children of illegal aliens access to public education, a permanent underclass is created.

Almost 30 years later, the illegal alien population is upwards of 20 million. States like California are on the verge of bankruptcy and continues to fling open the doors to illegal aliens. Georgia spends over $1.6 billion/year to accomodate illegal aliens in education, healthcare and incarceration. Georgia's illegal alien population is 480,000. Arizona works to stem the flow of illegal aliens into the state through SB1070 (which mirrors federal law) while being demonized by illegal immigration advocates. By the way, Arizona's illegal alien population is 460,000.

http://www.examiner.com/x-46228-Atlanta ... gal-aliens

Texas argued that they wanted to preserve the "state's limited resources for the education of its lawful residents." However, the Court stated that "there is no evidence in the record suggesting that illegal entrants impose any significant burden on the State's economy."

Well, time has proven otherwise.

Now that thousands of these kids are college age, will the Supreme Court force us to finance their college education too?
The same arguement is being used now by the Dream Act advocates. It is cruel to deny these bright young minds a a taxpayer funded college degree.

We mostly pay to educate the hundreds of thousands of citizen anchor kids whose numbers are increasing every day.