Immigration Law and Schools
Students, parents, and school officials are reacting to Alabama’s new immigration law, the toughest in the nation. The law went into effect last week after a federal judge upheld many of its most controversial provisions, including a requirement that schools check the immigration status of newly enrolled students. And that extra layer of administrative responsibility may pale in comparison with the fear it’s engendered. Dan Carsen has more from the Southern Education Desk at WBHM:
Students of all hues converge through the bottleneck of the main hallway at McAdory Middle School in McCalla, Alabama. Most stream right past a reporter with a mic and earphones without missing a beat, but a few, who’d been speaking Spanish, stop talking. It’s an uncertain time for many of them. According to McAdory Principal James McCleod, “We’ve had a few Hispanic students withdraw today, and some of them tell us that more are going to be withdrawing tomorrow, over the new immigration laws. The unintended consequences are affecting and disrupting the lives of these students. It’s … it’s hurtful.”
McCleod expects more of the same in coming weeks. Cuban-born Annabelle Frank, a legal resident and mother of a six-year-old in nearby Mountain Brook, Alabama, sheds some light on why:
“I’m actually considering home-schooling. Because I don’t want him involved in all this that’s going on. I know, because he is Hispanic, in some way he’s going to be singled out, you know? I’m really afraid of that.”
School officials are troubled by that type of response, and many – even those who don’t support the new law – bristle as they try to reassure students and parents. Across the state, administrators are spreading and repeating the message: all students should continue to come to school.
Lari Valtierra is ESL Supervisor for Jefferson County Schools. She tells families in English and in Spanish, “There’s a lot of fear, and miscommunications, misunderstandings out there. Jefferson County schools are open. We are not here to turn children away. We will accept all students in our classrooms. Estamos completamente abiertos para los hispanos.”
There will be some differences outside the classroom, in school offices across the state. There’s actually a flow chart of steps for school enrollment workers to take when presented – or not presented – with a student’s birth certificate. Legally, no student can be denied education based on lack of documents, or based on the transgressions of their parents. Alabama’s 132 districts will report numbers, not names, to the state education department, which will then report annually to the legislature.
Alabama schools had already been checking birth certificates at enrollment, but now the state board of education has to calculate the costs of educating students who don’t have them.
Several district superintendents and school principals expressed unease with the extra steps. But Interim State Superintendent Larry Craven says, “If they just follow that flow chart, they’ll get through the process in nothing flat. We’re gonna have a one-hundred-percent success rate, no big deal.”
Craven also thinks the fear engendered by the law is a result of sensationalized news reports and language barriers:
“I don’t know where the misinformation is coming from, I guess all variety of perhaps media and perhaps just word of mouth. If you have difficulty understanding the language anyway … then, who knows what they’re being told.”
Many critics of the law say it’s intended to scare illegal immigrants away from the state, and many supporters don’t have a problem with that. Several groups seeking to block the law have filed an appeal of last week’s ruling. Opponents of the appeal are filing arguments with the court today.
What to know about the mass Gen Z protests in Nepal
At least 19 people have been killed in the protests and more than 200 others were admitted to the hospital due to injuries, according to Nepal's Civil Service Hospital.
Hollywood stars boycott Israeli film companies in response to Gaza crisis
Emma Stone, Ava DuVernay and Gael Garcia Bernal are among more than 2,000 who signed the petition.
Supreme Court will weigh in on Trump’s tariffs. Here’s what to know about the case
Two lower courts have said some of President Trump's tariffs are unlawful. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to examine the issue.
Iran and the IAEA are expected to resume cooperation under agreement backed by Egypt
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed an agreement in Cairo to pave the way for resuming cooperation, including on ways of relaunching inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities.
Birmingham youth choir returns to the stage after golden buzzer moment
The Birmingham Youth and Young Adult Choir returns to NBC's "America's Got Talent" Tuesday evening after having won one of the show's golden buzzers earlier this summer.
The MAHA plan for healthier kids includes 128 ideas, but few details
The Make America Healthy Again commission is proposing more than 100 moves to address the root causes of childhood chronic disease. Critics say other Trump administration moves contradict the goals.
