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.
In Vermont, small town meetings grapple with debate on big issues
Typically concerned with local issues, residents at town meetings in Vermont and elsewhere increasingly use the forum to debate polarizing national and international events.
Alabama man, on death row since 1990, to get new trial
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the summer ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision paves the way for Michael Sockwell to receive a new trial.
Supreme Court blocks redrawing of New York congressional map, dealing a win for GOP
At issue is the mid-term redrawing of New York's 11th congressional district, including Staten Island and a small part of Brooklyn.
Video of Clinton depositions in Epstein investigation released by House Republicans
Over hours of testimony, the Clintons both denied knowledge of Epstein's crimes prior to his pleading guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution from an underage girl.
Some Middle East flights resume, but thousands of travelers are still stranded by war
Limited flights out of the Middle East resumed on Monday. But hundreds of thousands of travelers are still stranded in the region after attacks on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.
Oil prices surge, but no panic yet, as Iran war continues
Global oil prices are in the high $70s as traffic through Strait of Hormuz comes to a halt. Some analysts have warned they could top $100 a barrel if the stoppage is prolonged.
