Alabama Immigration Law Won't Keep Kids Out Of School

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Officials say the state's tough new immigration law won't prevent any child – including illegal immigrants – from enrolling in Alabama's public schools.

Tommy Bice of the Alabama Department of Education said Monday that state officials are sending information to local schools about how to deal with enrolling students. It requires only that public schools determine students' immigration status for record-keeping.

State officials had said previously that the measure, which became law in June, was not intended to keep illegal immigrants from enrolling.

Children who enroll after Sept. 1 and don't have a birth certificate can still attend school. Parents will be able to obtain other documents to prove their children's immigration status.

Opponents of the law are suing to block the measure from taking effect Sept. 1.

Comments

[dontagree]

06:58 PM on 08/30/2011

DEPORT ALL ILLEGALS IRREGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY! Re-vamp SS and delete old numbers of deceased people and make sure childrens SS are not being used. Better yet, get rid of SS and have everyone pay a fair tax on everything that way everyone pays fairly. If we don't send Mexicans/Hispanics home, then we also can't do that to others. Make everyone living off of "free government" funding or housing go back and those who are legal and "living" off the system because they don't have a problem lying and mooching have it cut off or have them do some government labor like cleaning the sewers and highways and those in prison, no cable, no computers, no food if they can't grow it and so on and so on...... It is not fair to punish those of us that will work and make us pay for those that won't whether they are legal or not.... Gotta start somewhere and nobody ever likes to have their life imposed upon....
You can not go to other countries w/o a passport and you surely can't stay w/o following their rules. We have rules and its time they were enforced!

[jimall3]

01:45 AM on 08/05/2011

So the trillions on wars we spent, which add nothing to our lives, that spending is great!? Destroying then rebuilding Iraq was worth it? IT recked this USA economy. I hear Israel ismdoing well however.

[jimall3]

01:39 AM on 08/05/2011

There are a lot of illegal Russians and Israelis in New York, let's deport them too if you all really feels this way. UNLESS its really just a racial or religious discrimination you feel.

[spytheweb]

11:18 AM on 08/11/2011

I feel the same way, deport all illegals! E-Verify all employees 100%. Even if they have been working for 30 years.
HR 2164:

"Fortunately, H.R. 2164 includes a process that we first worked on with Rep. Shuler (D-N.C.) for his SAVE Act.
Keep in mind that the problem with identity fraud is that illegal aliens are using names, birth dates and Social Security numbers that all match within the federal database. Thus, they slip through the tools listed above.
H.R. 2164 tackles this problem by ordering the Social Security Administration to identify the valid names/numbers that most likely are being used by identity thieves. The process starts by identifying employees with more than one employer reporting income to their Social Security number. Then, it looks for “unusual use patterns,” such as that the employers are in different geographic regions or represent different occupations, and so on."

http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/beckr/june-23-2011/hr-2164-has-six-aggressive-tools-end-grandfather-amnesty-loophole-existi

[midwest 86]

07:16 PM on 08/04/2011

If illegal immigrants are getting all these wonderful perks and gimmes from the government, let's see a show of hands on how many of you would trade places with them.

[RafaleMirage]

12:37 AM on 08/05/2011

You certainly make a very compelling argument to continue to give free educations to illegal aliens. You're saying that, unless we would switch places with them, we should just keep educating, clothing, housing and feeding them forever, and that we should stop trying to re-assert sovereignty over our own nation.

This is no more ridiculous than most of the other pro-illegal alien arguments I've read.

[toxic1402]

11:19 PM on 08/08/2011

Haha, When u say clothing, housing, and feeding are you talking about illegal immigrants or all the people that's on welfare and food stamps 'cause last time I checked you have to have ssn to receive food and money from the government and if u are becoming citizen or resident you aren’t allowed to receive any kind of aid from the govt and if you do you risk having your citizenship or residency rejected. I think you have to know what are you talking about before u open your mouth and say something.

[Blessed JoY]

07:32 PM on 08/02/2011

America give me back all of my tax dollars and social security funds I paid into my home country, since you are feeling so rich. I can use these funds to pay tithes and offerings, also to help take care of my Christian American family. (Since money seems to be no object).

[Alexandra Cean]

10:21 PM on 08/03/2011

Right, and I'll also see the tax money given away for child tax credits. Unrealistic.

[First Blast]

06:37 PM on 08/02/2011

Why is taxpayer money supporting illegal behavior?

[Shomali]

04:46 PM on 08/02/2011

"Alabama Immigration Law Won't Keep Kids Out Of School"

Yes it would. The immigrants won't bring their kids to school. Outright outlawing of the immigrant kids not being able to attend schools is unconstitutional, and it is settled. This is like having a poll tax but allowing "negros" to vote, in the old south. Alabama and the rest of the south are back to their old tricks: hate. They found the perfect voice-less people to direct their hatred to. This is not to say there is no need for immigration reform, but Alabama or any of the southern states have no immigration problems. As a matter of fact ,they are benefiting from cheap farm work labor due to it. These laws are nothing but dust up, updated forms of the early 20th century racist laws. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

[usmc32yr]

09:51 AM on 08/03/2011

You must be a Mexican , you don't see any thing wrong with criminals ? It's not hard to come here legally . Mexicans are criminals so they had RATHER come here illegally .

[Shomali]

10:57 AM on 08/03/2011

Just think of this. One of the first casualties of the Iraq war was Jose Angel Garibay, an un-documented ailen. He was granted citizenship postmortem. He was a kid who went to school in the US and learned to become an American.

http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oif/profiles/garibayjosea.html

By the way, there is no way for any of the undocumented to come here legally. There is no program for them, otherwise they would have come legally. You need to familiarize yourself with immigration laws a bit. It is a sham.

No, I am not a Mexican, but I sure like tacos and tamales alot more than moon pie.

Semper fi.

[RafaleMirage]

01:00 AM on 08/09/2011

"Outright outlawing of the immigrant kids not being able to attend schools is unconstitu­tional"

Wrong. Invaders have no right to attend schools. Re-read Plyler.

[rrickarr]

03:01 PM on 08/02/2011

There is a HUGE difference between educating every child on American soil and educating them at special schools. Every child deserves an education and it is not the fault of the child that he/she is illegal BUT American tax dollars are giving more to get these kids up to speed and the good American students are being ignored. I have been teaching for years and that is the truth.

If you are a good student who does what you are supposed to do--you get nothing! Instead the pregnant teens, special ed (who really should not be special ed) and foreign kids who are not up to level are getting all the resources: that is the true and dirtiest secret in public education.

[rrickarr]

03:03 PM on 08/02/2011

I forgot to say---in Europe (where I now teach) some countries have special schools for foreign children so that they can be brought up to speed--intensive language learning--and passage directly into a vocational program after Gr.10----and this way they go through a State system and are integrated into society and become productive citizens---and it is a good situation for everyone.

[Shomali]

04:56 PM on 08/02/2011

There is no assimilation of immigrants in Europe as there is in the US.

[Shomali]

04:55 PM on 08/02/2011

I am sorry, you have no clue about what you are talking about. The idea that a school district pays more to educate a 6 year old that was brought with his parent illegally from Guatemala, than a kid who came to US legally from Guatemala, or a 6 year old born and bred in Alabama, is pure nonsense. To segregate the students is where more money will be spent. You put all the kids together they learn English in months and assimilate. There is no separate but equal.

[rrickarr]

05:34 PM on 08/02/2011

Shomali--the fact of the matter is: many kids who come from a foreign country--especially a 3rd World Country, are coming from a virtually non-existent school system (and I know because I taught in a 3rd World Country)--when they come to the US---millions of dollars are spent to get them into the system---language and then academics--this is a federally supported statistic. And the school must dedicate funds to that cause, while the American kids are sitting there having to fend for themselves. You can disagree all you want--but I know from working in schools for years and from Federal statistics.

[rrickarr]

05:40 PM on 08/02/2011

Shomali: I never said anything about a district paying MORE--I am talking about a district having to pay at all--why is that fair. Put these children in a special school for them. When you put all students with special circumstances into a school that is equipped for this you are cost efficient. Instead the government makes a school get special programs and resources for a small majority of the school population.

You have no idea what you are talking about by what you have written. There is a huge difference between a child born in the USA and one who has just come from the USA. Secondly a child born in the USA has certain rights that someone who has arrived illegally (after birth) does not.

I certainly hope you don't teach in the school system with logic like this.

[spoonbill1963]

02:07 PM on 08/02/2011

Ship the illegals home.
Problem solved.

[DrObvious]

01:21 PM on 08/02/2011

learning and law enforcement don't mix well.   note the rich educational backgrounds filling our prisons.

better we educate everybody - not get our undies in a bundle about national origin or ability to pay.    fewer criminals result

[genrel1248]

10:37 AM on 08/02/2011

Officials said racial background information is being gathered for "record keeping" purposes only.

[DrObvious]

01:22 PM on 08/02/2011

you need data if you're going to ensure that race discrimination does not occur.     of course, other uses for the data exist as well, not always prosocial uses at that

[Mister Serene]

07:24 AM on 08/02/2011

They are schools in Alabama?

[Thaag Tidestalker]

06:39 AM on 08/02/2011

I live in Montgomery in a part of town with a lot of quiet immigrant families. I won't pass judgment upon their legal status, but I will say that the high school my kids went to had no Latino immigrant students. Not one. I see the Mesoamerican kids walking home from the church-based schools in the afternoon.

[chaserblue]

05:33 AM on 08/02/2011

Round 'em up...
It reminds me of the tax thing with drugs...they'll sell you a tax stamp for them, because not having one is illegal. But admitting you have them is illegal. Catch-22 your a-- right into prison...

[spytheweb]

09:49 PM on 08/01/2011

Illegals don't want to be identified, this is what this law will do. Many of these students believe they are US citizens and this law will reveal that they are not. Their parents  want to remain living the life as a fake American. The federal government does not want the data to come out as just how bad this problem really is. What we are really paying for foreign students to be educated here.

This debt ceiling stuff is going to provide even less money to the states. They can not afford supporting illegal foreigners and their families.