Associated Press: Hispanic students have started pulling out of Alabama public schools in the wake of a court ruling that upheld the state's tough new law cracking down on illegal immigration.
Education officials say scores of immigrant families withdrew their children from classes or kept them home last week, afraid that sending the kids to school would draw attention from authorities.
There are no precise statewide numbers, but several districts with large immigrant enrollments -- from small towns to large urban districts -- reported a sudden exodus of children of Hispanic descent. Some told officials they plan to leave the state to avoid trouble with the law, which requires schools to check students' immigration status.
The anxiety has become so intense that the superintendent in Huntsville, one of the state's largest cities, went on a Spanish-language TV show Thursday to try to calm widespread worries.
"In the case of this law, our students do not have anything to fear," Casey Wardynski said. He urged families to send students to class and explained that the state is only trying to compile statistics.
Police, he insisted, were not getting involved in schools.
Victor Palafox graduated from a high school in suburban Birmingham last year and has lived in the U.S. without documentation since age 6, when his parents brought him and his brother to the country from Mexico.
"Younger students are watching their lives taken from their hands," said Palafox, whose family is staying put.
In Montgomery County, more than 200 Hispanic students were absent the morning after the judge's ruling on Wednesday. A handful withdrew.
In tiny Albertville, 35 students withdrew in one day. And about 20 students in Shelby County, in suburban Birmingham, either withdrew or told teachers they were leaving.
Local and state officials are pleading with immigrant families to keep their children enrolled. The law does not ban anyone from school, they say, and neither students nor parents will be arrested for getting an education.
But many Spanish-speaking families aren't waiting around to see what happens.
A school worker in Albertville -- a community with a large poultry industry that employs many Hispanic workers -- said Friday that many families might leave town over the weekend for other states. About 22% of the community's 4,200 students are Hispanic.
"I met a Hispanic mother in the hallway at our community learning center this morning, where enrollment and withdrawal happens.
"She looked at me with tears in her eyes. I asked, 'Are you leaving?' She said, 'Yes,' and hugged me, crying," said the worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not an authorized spokeswoman.
In Russellville, which has one of the largest immigrant populations in the state, overall school attendance was down more than 2% after the ruling. The rate was higher among Hispanic students.
There's "no firm data yet, but several students have related to their teachers that they may be moving soon," said George Harper, who works in the central office.
Schools in Baldwin County, a heavily agricultural and tourist area near the gulf coast, and in Decatur in the Tennessee Valley also reported sudden decreases in Hispanic student attendance.
The law does not require proof of citizenship to enroll, and it does not apply to any students who were enrolled before Sept. 1. Although most students are not affected, school systems are now supposed to begin checking the status of first-time enrollees.
The state has distributed to schools sample letters that can be sent to parents of new students informing them of the law's requirements for either citizenship documents or sworn statements by parents.
In an attempt to ease suspicions that the law may lead to arrests, the letter tells parents immigration information will be used only to gather statistics.
"Rest assured," the letter states, "that it will not be a problem if you are unable or unwilling to provide either of the documents."
The Obama administration is appealing U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn's decision that upheld key parts of the state immigration law -- the strictest in the nation.
Late Friday, the Justice Department filed a motion asking for the judge's decision to be put on hold temporarily so the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta can weigh the issue.
"Alabama has no authority to regulate in the area of immigration," the department's lawyers said.
The government's lawyers say immigration violations are a civil matter, not a crime.
"The Alabama provisions ... make unlawful presence a criminal offense and render unlawfully present aliens a unique class who cannot lawfully obtain housing, enforce a contract or send their children to school without fear that enrollment will be used as a tool to seek to detain and remove them and their family members," they said.
Last year, the Obama administration sued Arizona and won rulings that blocked its strict immigration measure. Gov. Jan Brewer appealed the issue to the Supreme Court last month.
The justices are likely to take up the case later this year to decide how far states can go to enforce U.S. immigration laws.
Education officials say scores of immigrant families withdrew their children from classes or kept them home last week, afraid that sending the kids to school would draw attention from authorities.
There are no precise statewide numbers, but several districts with large immigrant enrollments -- from small towns to large urban districts -- reported a sudden exodus of children of Hispanic descent. Some told officials they plan to leave the state to avoid trouble with the law, which requires schools to check students' immigration status.
The anxiety has become so intense that the superintendent in Huntsville, one of the state's largest cities, went on a Spanish-language TV show Thursday to try to calm widespread worries.
"In the case of this law, our students do not have anything to fear," Casey Wardynski said. He urged families to send students to class and explained that the state is only trying to compile statistics.
Police, he insisted, were not getting involved in schools.
Victor Palafox graduated from a high school in suburban Birmingham last year and has lived in the U.S. without documentation since age 6, when his parents brought him and his brother to the country from Mexico.
"Younger students are watching their lives taken from their hands," said Palafox, whose family is staying put.
In Montgomery County, more than 200 Hispanic students were absent the morning after the judge's ruling on Wednesday. A handful withdrew.
In tiny Albertville, 35 students withdrew in one day. And about 20 students in Shelby County, in suburban Birmingham, either withdrew or told teachers they were leaving.
Local and state officials are pleading with immigrant families to keep their children enrolled. The law does not ban anyone from school, they say, and neither students nor parents will be arrested for getting an education.
But many Spanish-speaking families aren't waiting around to see what happens.
A school worker in Albertville -- a community with a large poultry industry that employs many Hispanic workers -- said Friday that many families might leave town over the weekend for other states. About 22% of the community's 4,200 students are Hispanic.
"I met a Hispanic mother in the hallway at our community learning center this morning, where enrollment and withdrawal happens.
"She looked at me with tears in her eyes. I asked, 'Are you leaving?' She said, 'Yes,' and hugged me, crying," said the worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not an authorized spokeswoman.
In Russellville, which has one of the largest immigrant populations in the state, overall school attendance was down more than 2% after the ruling. The rate was higher among Hispanic students.
There's "no firm data yet, but several students have related to their teachers that they may be moving soon," said George Harper, who works in the central office.
Schools in Baldwin County, a heavily agricultural and tourist area near the gulf coast, and in Decatur in the Tennessee Valley also reported sudden decreases in Hispanic student attendance.
The law does not require proof of citizenship to enroll, and it does not apply to any students who were enrolled before Sept. 1. Although most students are not affected, school systems are now supposed to begin checking the status of first-time enrollees.
The state has distributed to schools sample letters that can be sent to parents of new students informing them of the law's requirements for either citizenship documents or sworn statements by parents.
In an attempt to ease suspicions that the law may lead to arrests, the letter tells parents immigration information will be used only to gather statistics.
"Rest assured," the letter states, "that it will not be a problem if you are unable or unwilling to provide either of the documents."
The Obama administration is appealing U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn's decision that upheld key parts of the state immigration law -- the strictest in the nation.
Late Friday, the Justice Department filed a motion asking for the judge's decision to be put on hold temporarily so the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta can weigh the issue.
"Alabama has no authority to regulate in the area of immigration," the department's lawyers said.
The government's lawyers say immigration violations are a civil matter, not a crime.
"The Alabama provisions ... make unlawful presence a criminal offense and render unlawfully present aliens a unique class who cannot lawfully obtain housing, enforce a contract or send their children to school without fear that enrollment will be used as a tool to seek to detain and remove them and their family members," they said.
Last year, the Obama administration sued Arizona and won rulings that blocked its strict immigration measure. Gov. Jan Brewer appealed the issue to the Supreme Court last month.
The justices are likely to take up the case later this year to decide how far states can go to enforce U.S. immigration laws.
No comments:
Post a Comment