Thread: CA: Illegal immigration leaves teachers behind

Letters: Illegal immigration leaves teachers behind
July 18
The Register detailed the penalties and sanctions faced by 27 Orange County schools, almost all of them in Santa Ana, for missing benchmarks year after year in the "No Child Left Behind" program ["Schools hope changes pay off," July 14]. I don't work for Santa Ana schools but I have family and friends who do, and I hear about the problems all the time.

Santa Ana must educate mostly Hispanic children, many of whom are recent arrivals from Mexico and Central America. They are just now learning English. Many come from homes where parents cannot help with academics because they don't speak English at all or they speak poor English. Are the schools responsible for this? Santa Ana schools serve a population featuring economically poor demographics. Santa Ana families tend to be large, which means less parental attention for each child, and the children often must care for younger brothers and sisters after school, as parents cannot afford day care. It is not unusual for them to miss many days of school to care for siblings.

There are gangs and crowded homes, and all the problems of poverty to deal with. Santa Ana has the highest population density in the state, which is not compatible with quiet study and homework. New immigrant children are too often taken back to Mexico to celebrate extended Mexican holidays, especially in the winter, returning weeks late, missing too many classes. They go home for Christmas and then the undocumented ones have to wait for the "right time" to sneak back into Orange County to return to school. Is this the teachers' fault?

Here in Irvine parents pay for tutoring when students require it, and children benefit academically from all kinds of culturally enriching activities, from trips to museums to vacations abroad to academic camps. College-educated parents in Irvine, as in most of Orange County, work hard and pay a lot of money to help educate their children.

The most unfair part of all of this is that the federal government's failure to control illegal immigration is the cause of many of Santa Ana's school problems, and now it is the same federal government that wants to penalize teachers and professionals in the Santa Ana schools for those failures. If the Santa Ana kids were put in Irvine schools and the Irvine children were sent to school in Santa Ana, it would be the Irvine teachers and administration being damned for students who are "left behind." Not fair.

– Mark Neckameyer of Irvine

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/stron ... ew-schools

The most unfair part of all of this is that the federal government's failure to control illegal immigration is the cause of many of Santa Ana's school problems, and now it is the same federal government that wants to penalize teachers and professionals in the Santa Ana schools for those failures.

Well looks like the cities need to wake up (mine included, I live in Texas) and quit educating illegals. Pass legislation on the local level if necessary! It is not the American citizens responsibility to educate the children of those that break our laws and come here illegally!

And this would be the potential voter block that the Democrats and Republicans are clamoring over? Right......and I'm a monkey's Uncle.

Follow the money.

What's frustrating is all these taxpayer funded programs going to illegals. It makes me sick that we have to spend our money trying to educate them. In the end most of them drop out of school and start having babies, who will also be on the welfare system . The cycle never ends.

We're giving up so much because our federal government refuses to do its job in keeping illegals out. Schools, hospitals, welfare system, etc. all in a big mess.

Can you imagine they go home for holidays and then "sneak back over the border to go back to school"?? It's absurd. Stay there - don't sneak back!

Obviously, our federal government cares nothing about its own citizens, just about MONEY and having cheap labor, no matter whether or not we are safe (which we aren't with open borders), and no matter whether or not we even WANT any more immigrants coming in to this country!

Illegals have completely destroyed the LA school system. No one bothers to teach or to learn anything. The schools are just there for babysitting purposes.....to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Fox had a segment on a border city (I cannot remember the name, but I think it was in Texas) where Mexican kids walked right across the border in plain view every day to attend public schools. Evidently nothing could be done because the school officials were not allowed to ask the kids if they lived in the district. I remember being astounded yet again at the errant blockheadedness of our officials and the rules.

Maybe someone here can verify this (or not)--I do not want to be making false statements--but I did see the program.

Originally Posted by Tanstaafl

Fox had a segment on a border city (I cannot remember the name, but I think it was in Texas) where Mexican kids walked right across the border in plain view every day to attend public schools. Evidently nothing could be done because the school officials were not allowed to ask the kids if they lived in the district. I remember being astounded yet again at the errant blockheadedness of our officials and the rules.

Maybe someone here can verify this (or not)--I do not want to be making false statements--but I did see the program.

I've seen several news programs where American school buses picked up the Mexican kids at the border and then took them to American schools everyday! We live in a country that is being run by traitors!

Sounds like the schools are being used for the parents convenience. A daycare if you will. I would never set a holiday as priority over my childs education.

Maybe someone here can verify this (or not)--I do not want to be making false statements--but I did see the program.

It is true!! They do it in El Paso and a few other border towns where everyday, hundred of kids simply walk across (several places U.S. Busses are sent to get them) the border to attend U.S. schools. Keep in mind these services are being paid for by the American people. In addition, these illegal school children are on free breakfast and luch programs as well.