It is Almost “Back to School” Time! What We Might Expect at A Local Elementary or Secondary School this Fall

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) today issued a letter (Download north_chicago_school_district.pdf) demanding that a district official in the North Chicago Community Unit Schools refrain from contacting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security about parents seeking to enroll children who may not have legal immigration status. Earlier this week, MALDEF’s regional office was contacted by a parent who was told by the district’s office that she should home teach her children because of the parent’s immigration status, despite the fact that the parent was a resident of the school district.  MALDEF reminded district officials that the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe (1982) that public schools cannot deny admission to a student based on the student’s or parent’s immigration status and that school officials can not ask students or parents questions that may expose their undocumented status.

Unfortunately, we might see Latinos in a number of states to experience similar treatment as the new school year begins because of heightened anti-immigrant tensions over the last few months and the desire of many local governments to enter the national immigration debate.

KJ