After Immigration Ruling, Students At Alabama School Cry, Withdraw

Mobile Press-Register:

FOLEY, Alabama -- Many of the 223 Hispanic students at Foley Elementary came to school Thursday crying and afraid, said Principal Bill Lawrence. 

Nineteen of them withdrew, and another 39 were absent, Lawrence said, the day after a federal judge upheld much of Alabama’s strict new immigration law, which authorizes law enforcement to detain people suspected of not being U.S. citizens and requires schools to ask new enrollees for a copy of their birth certificate. 

Read the whole story: Mobile Press-Register

Comments

[ashleyswt2010]

11:54 PM on 10/05/2011

I dont see a problem with the illegals being here. The ONLY people that shouldnt be allowed here is : Drug dealers,drug users,rapists,murderers,thieves,etc. the list goes on. Why do illegals come here? Some for a better life, some so they can send $ home to family. But mostly because they are so tired of being so poor and struggling. Everyone wants them to become legal,do yall actually think thats cheap? Absoluely NOT. They came here because they had little to no money then come here and are expected to pay thousands of dollars just to get a piece of paper saying its ok to be here. I went to mexico for 2 months to visit my in-laws and if yall knew how bad they struggle day to day,yall would just lay off. I remember when I was over their and my sisnlaw told me she got offered a job working in a small restaurant where they would only pay her 500 pesos weekly whick is 50$. They have no $ for washingmachine and dryers,cars,toys and decent looking clothes for their kids and the list goes on. We americans are so blessed but are the greediest and the most selfish country!

[specultr]

02:33 AM on 10/03/2011

This generation of Alabama law enforcement gets to enforce the laws like their parents did with Jim Crow laws. The law is the law, but sometimes it's fun too. Hee haw.

[new beginning]

08:23 PM on 10/02/2011

It is not the fault of the law that the PARENTS put their children in a situation where they are breaking the LAW.....

[Christopher Fenner]

09:37 PM on 10/02/2011

If a child has been brought to this country by their parents, the child has not broken any law. The child is simply an undocumented alien. If you unlawfully detain someone...it is a federal crime called kidnapping. Police officers can only detain someone if they have "reasonable suspicion" that a crime was committed by that person. Being an undocumented child is not a crime. Not in Alabama, not in Arizona, not anywhere. The police, i'm sure, have been briefed on this, and would be taking a huge risk if the unlawfully detained a child. This is not my opinion..this is the law.

[Viper1st]

09:54 PM on 10/02/2011

Beg to differ ~

The illegal child may have been brought into the USA, illegally. But, the U.S. Federal Immigration Laws DO NOT differentiate between illegal alien & "NO FAULT' illegal alien

If you have entered the USA by any means, without the authorization of the U.S. Gov't ~ you are, an illegal alien

U.S.C. 8 § 1325 : US Code - Section 1325: Improper entry by alien

(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection;
misrepresentation and concealment of facts
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States
at any time or place other than as designated by immigration
officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration
officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United
States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the
willful concealment of a material fact, .
(b) Improper time or place; civil penalties
Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to
enter) the United States at a time or place other than as
designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil
penalty of -
(1) at least $50 and not more than $250 for each such entry (or
attempted entry); or
(2) twice the amount specified in paragraph (1) in the case of
an alien who has been previously subject to a civil penalty under
this subsection.

[new beginning]

09:59 PM on 10/02/2011

If a person is here illegally, they are ILLEGAL aliens.

If the children have a problem with being treated as the criminals they are, then they need to take it up with the PARENTS who put them - and US law abiding citizens - in this terrible situation.

[HoyaHoyaSaxa]

08:08 PM on 10/02/2011

Labeling an entire nationality "mindless livestock" is such a giveaway.

[realorpretend]

10:19 PM on 10/02/2011

Sure, what ever helps you

[pb31]

01:33 AM on 10/03/2011

The waiting list for Mexicans to legally enter the U.S. Is quite long. This demonstrates that many, many Mexicans can and do obtain legal entry documents. To say that Mexicans live like "mindless livestock" is highly offensive. If they are as "dumb" as you suggest, why are we so worried that they will take American jobs or enroll in American universities? Wouldn't employers and admissions committees prefer "smart" Americans?

[Ohioliberal]

06:28 PM on 10/02/2011

I personally do not lose sleep because those that are breaking the law are suddenly "uncomfortable"

[realorpretend]

07:06 PM on 10/02/2011

This comment makes way too much sense.

[sfsoma]

06:17 PM on 10/02/2011

What is shocking about legislation that did what it was intended to do? The people of Alabama want the immigrants who are her illegally to move out of their state, it's not shocking that they are. How many American citizens not of European dewscent will also leave is the real question.

[insanityfollows]

04:00 PM on 10/02/2011

I am absolutely for immigration reform, but this is a harsh draconian law. It also turns the schools into immigration police. That most certainly is NOT their job. What a mess.

[mashtoe]

05:40 PM on 10/02/2011

Immigration reform== amnesty. No thanks!

[tjconkster]

06:31 PM on 10/02/2011

And what if that was said to your relatives who came here as immigrants..the Italians were not wanted, the Irish (ancestors) were not wanted, the Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Haitians...immigrants have ti rough...and not all of OUR ancestors came here legally...

In fact..if you ask a Native American...we're all illegals...

[mashtoe]

05:42 PM on 10/02/2011

If schools do not check if students are citizens then stop forcing ME to pay for schools! I will pay for AMERICAN kids education only! If schools are global providers then be honest and tax the "global community". Good luck!

[LA736]

05:57 PM on 10/02/2011

they do tax the global economy, it's called an import tax. I am not paying for schools to waste time pretending to be immigration police or border patrol officers. We pay them to teach the children in class, not to discriminate based on color. Maybe back with Governor Wallace was around, it was normal practice; but the supreme court outlawed it back in the sixties. Grow up please, and have some compassion will ya?

[mashtoe]

03:47 PM on 10/02/2011

So basically US taxpayers are footing the bill to educate Mexico's children.

[Viper1st]

04:13 PM on 10/02/2011

Yep ~ $8 billion USD annually for FREE K-12 Education to illegal

Yep ~ $4 billion USD annually for FREE Birthing Expenses for babies born to illegal parent(s) on USA soil

Yep ~ While illegals receive $4.2 billion USD annually from U.S. Taxpayers in U.S. Gov't Federal Tax REFUNDS

Yep ~ While illegals send $30 billion annually out of the U.S. Economy to their homelands or origin

[46n09]

09:18 AM on 10/03/2011

But $30 billion in subsidies to the oil companies which are the most profitable companies in the world is just fine!

[new beginning]

08:27 PM on 10/02/2011

Bingo.....

[Gupdiver]

03:09 PM on 10/02/2011

Why is having to show your documentation so bad, the Whitehouse requires it to even visit / tour it. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/tours-and-events

[Viper1st]

04:20 PM on 10/02/2011

Still ~ it didn't stop illegal journalist, Jose Antonio Vargas, from gaining access inside the White House past the Secret Service using a Fraudulent SSN, the self-confessed Vargas stated in his written documentry of "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1

[new beginning]

08:29 PM on 10/02/2011

Great point.

Fanned.

[LMPE]

03:02 PM on 10/02/2011

Remember, Alabama. Whatever bad luck befalls your state is YOUR fault.

[Gupdiver]

03:11 PM on 10/02/2011

Let's see, state provided aid benefit funding to illegals will drop, farm wages will increase and class sizes will decrease.

[MSELLIE]

03:20 PM on 10/02/2011

Except these our exceptional Americans are NOT going to get their hands dirty working farmlands, so the farmers will loose out. Oh well, that's what the people of Alabama voted for. The jobs will be aplenty,I am waiting how many of us will apply. And just because americansmay take take the jobs does not guaranteehigher wages. The least the farmers can pay Americans is the minimum wage for right now and believe me we exceptional Americans will not do back breaking labor for minimum wage. GOOD LUCK FARMERS!

[Mark Lindley]

08:01 PM on 10/02/2011

Their fault for what? Illegals leaving Alabama will be a good thing. Education will be less costly and jobs will open up for Americans. I don't see a a downside here unless you think people should be illegally in our country. Is that the American way. We are a nation of laws just like any other country.

[MichaelC]

02:45 PM on 10/02/2011

There is so much selective quoting on this issue that I did some digging and found what appears to be objective information in the following report:

See http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Giving_Facts_a_Fighting_Chance_100710.pdf

Immigration reform must be rational, practical, and tough:  It is unacceptable to have 11 million people in our country living outside the legal system.  To enhance our security, we must have smart border and interior enforcement, target the real causes of violence along the border, and prosecute those who exploit immigrant labor and those who profit from smuggling.

Additionally, unauthorized immigrants should be required to come forward to legalize their status, pay back taxes, learn English, and pass criminal background checks. Finally, we must create sufficient legal channels to support the level of immigration our country needs in the future.

Efforts simply to deport are often political games, not serious policy proposals:  Over the past two decades, tens of billions of dollars have been spent on immigration enforcement.  The annual budget of the U.S. Border Patrol has increased nine-fold and the number of Border Patrol agents stationed along the southwest border has increased nearly five-fold since Fiscal Year (FY) 1992, yet the unauthorized population has tripled in size.  Billions in taxpayer dollars are wasted every year when we attempt to spend our way out of the problem rather than solve it.

[Jasel]

12:25 PM on 10/02/2011

What exactly is shocking about this?? This is exactly what this policy was meant to do. Intimidate a bunch of brown people into leaving the area.

[voyager48]

02:38 PM on 10/02/2011

except that it is not only aimed at brown people. The fact that most of the illegals are Mexican begs a different question entirely

[MSELLIE]

03:23 PM on 10/02/2011

Come on you know the deal -if you ain't white you ain't right.

[RNP2233]

09:20 AM on 10/03/2011

you have to show ID for the following:
To get a library card
Buy Booze
Get into a bar


How does what you are saying make sense- You cant ask for ID after you are pulled over to make sure you are legal- This is a joke RIght

[Mark Lindley]

08:02 PM on 10/02/2011

"Brown" people? What does skin color have to do with it? If they are here illegally they should go home regardless of their skin color. If you think all illegals are brown then you need a reality check.

[Memo From Turner]

04:18 PM on 10/04/2011

Don’t kid yourself. You don’t care if somebody is illegal or not. It is all flat out anti-immigrant hysteria that is wrapped in the cloak of some sort of fake law and order campaign.

Yes illegal immigration is a civil offense. By definition it is illegal, but how criminal is the status of an undocumented resident? As criminal as prostitution? Is it as criminal as tax evasion? As criminal as extortion? Insider trading? Speeding? DWI? Shoplifting? Grand theft? Aggravated assault? Rape?

Apparently you find it far worse than any of the above or why else you would single it out. Why do you coddle some criminals but persecute somebody who committed a civil offense?

There are countless ways that you can save society from wrongdoers. Please share your success stories with us.

Or does it all start and end with harassing foreigners?

[Viper1st]

12:02 PM on 10/02/2011

The illegal parent(s) of illegal children, brought into the USA ~ illegally, (though no fault of their own)

Have committed a Federal Felony in violation of ~

U.S.C. 8 § 1324 : US Code - Section 1324: Bringing in and harboring certain aliens

(a) Criminal penalties
(1)(A) Any person who -
(i) knowing that a person is an alien, brings to or attempts to
bring to the United States in any manner whatsoever such person
at a place other than a designated port of entry or place other
than as designated by the Commissioner, regardless of whether
such alien has received prior official authorization to come to,
enter, or reside in the United
(ii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien
has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in
violation of law, transports, or moves or attempts to transport
or move such alien within the United
(iii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an
alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in
violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection,
or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection
(iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or
reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of
the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is in violation of law
(II) aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts,
shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).

[Memo From Turner]

05:44 PM on 10/04/2011

No they have not. USC 8 does not even cover criminal offenses. Only civil violations.

[Viper1st]

11:45 AM on 10/02/2011

2011 ~ 46 of 50 state legislatures slashed state funding to EDUCATION to balance their 2011-12 budgets, causing the lay-offs of 10% of the Nation's Teachers

Why? Because of the lack of incoming revenues

The U.S. Economy can no longer sustain the luxury of providing FREE K-12 education to the 850,000+ illegal children, in the USA ~ illegally.

It's affecting the quality of education to Legal U.S. Citizen Students

850,000+ illegal K-12 students at an ANNUAL Nat'l Ave cost to educate of $8,800 per student, per year = $8 billion USD annually Cost to the U.S. Taxpayer

[Ohioliberal]

11:39 AM on 10/02/2011

Coming to America for opportunity? Using Mexico as one example, it appears that the better opportunities are in Mexico - go figure?

Unemployment rate in US = 9.1
http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=z1ebjpgk2654c1_&met_y=unemployment_rate&tdim=true&fdim_y=seasonality:S&dl=en&hl=en&q=unemployment+rate+us

Unemployment rate in Mexico = 5.4
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/mexico/unemployment-rate