Major national groups have expressed their concerns about the proposed new policies, citing the unintended consequences associated with having thousands of unsupervised youth left out of school with nothing to fill their time. The problem that would only be exacerbated by denying youth access to local public schooling. In the 1982 Plyler vs. Doe decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny children access to public education because of their citizenship status. When the Gallegly amendment was debated, IDRA distributed an informational alert about this and similar measures. They should not be punished for circumstances they do not control.
Children have the right to learn and be useful members of society.
Hurt more than they claim to help - Denying children access to education will not eliminate illegal immigration. Instead, it ensures the creation of an underclass. Without public education for children, illiteracy rates will increase, and opportunities for workforce and community participation will decrease. Turn public school teachers and officials into INS agents - Rather than teaching students, school officials could spend their time asking our 44 million school children about their citizenship status. Promote misinformation - Incorrect assumptions and inappropriate figures have been used to blame immigrants and their children for economic problems.