Montgomery Advertiser: An incident at a Montgomery public school was cited Monday in a U.S. District Court case as a reason Alabama's new immigration law will have a chilling effect on whether children of illegal aliens attend school.
A Montgomery public school teacher asked a fourth-grader whether she was a legal resident, and later asked about the immigration status of the girl's parents, the girl's mother, an undocumented alien, said in an affidavit filed Monday. The woman said it occurred Friday.
Alabama's new law requires schools to collect information on the immigration status of students when they enroll, but does not prevent them from attending school and does not require questions of status for enrolled children. School administrators had been told that they did not have to check on the immigration status of children this year since classes began before the law went into effect.
The incident was cited to show that the law would make many illegal aliens fearful enough to keep their children from attending schools.
The woman, known as "Jane Doe No. 7," said in the brief that she does not intend to take her daughter, a U.S. citizen, out of school, but she said she knows others who have. The brief, which does not name the school or the teacher, was filed on behalf of a coalition of plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center, who are seeking to stop implementation of the law.
"Students like Jane Doe No. 7's child should not face these inquiries," said Karen Tumlin, one of the attorneys in the case. "We've maintained all along this is how the law will be implemented."
Tom Salter, a spokesman for Montgomery Public Schools, said the district could not comment on an accusation "made by an unknown person at an unknown school to an unknown student."
Tumlin said she did not know if Jane Doe No. 7 had filed a complaint with the district.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn last week allowed major portions of the law to go into effect, finding the U.S. Justice Department and other plaintiffs seeking to block the law had not shown grounds for preliminary injunction.
In the brief, the mother said her daughter was doing schoolwork Friday when the teacher asked about her immigration status. Later that day, the same teacher asked the girl what the immigration status of her parents was, and the girl responded that she didn't know, according to the affidavit.
The mother said other Latino students were approached by the same teacher and asked about their status. The mother said she intended to have the child return to school.
"Her education is too important for her to miss school, and I trust she will not tell the school about her parent's immigration status," she said. "However, I am very afraid that they might find out, and that they will treat her and us differently because of this new law."
Section 28 of the state's immigration law requires school districts to collect information on students' immigration status when they first enroll. The law does not ban undocumented aliens from attending school.
In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that immigration status was not sufficient grounds to keep a child from public school. Plaintiffs have argued the law will create a "chilling effect," with undocumented parents fearful of enrolling their children in school.
The state attorney general's office has argued the law does not have an enforcement provision and does not deprive any child of a public education.
"Any fear that implementation of Section 28 would lead to investigation of parents' status is not 'well-founded,'" the state argued in a brief filed in a lawsuit against the legislation Monday.
Blackburn last week agreed with the state, writing that Section 28 "does not compel school officials to determine the immigration status of the parent of a student." The Alabama Department of Education, Salter said, has shared information on the law with officials and principals.
"Principals have gotten a variety of information on it and it is our hope they share it with their staff," he said.
A Montgomery public school teacher asked a fourth-grader whether she was a legal resident, and later asked about the immigration status of the girl's parents, the girl's mother, an undocumented alien, said in an affidavit filed Monday. The woman said it occurred Friday.
Alabama's new law requires schools to collect information on the immigration status of students when they enroll, but does not prevent them from attending school and does not require questions of status for enrolled children. School administrators had been told that they did not have to check on the immigration status of children this year since classes began before the law went into effect.
The incident was cited to show that the law would make many illegal aliens fearful enough to keep their children from attending schools.
The woman, known as "Jane Doe No. 7," said in the brief that she does not intend to take her daughter, a U.S. citizen, out of school, but she said she knows others who have. The brief, which does not name the school or the teacher, was filed on behalf of a coalition of plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and Southern Poverty Law Center, who are seeking to stop implementation of the law.
"Students like Jane Doe No. 7's child should not face these inquiries," said Karen Tumlin, one of the attorneys in the case. "We've maintained all along this is how the law will be implemented."
Tom Salter, a spokesman for Montgomery Public Schools, said the district could not comment on an accusation "made by an unknown person at an unknown school to an unknown student."
Tumlin said she did not know if Jane Doe No. 7 had filed a complaint with the district.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn last week allowed major portions of the law to go into effect, finding the U.S. Justice Department and other plaintiffs seeking to block the law had not shown grounds for preliminary injunction.
In the brief, the mother said her daughter was doing schoolwork Friday when the teacher asked about her immigration status. Later that day, the same teacher asked the girl what the immigration status of her parents was, and the girl responded that she didn't know, according to the affidavit.
The mother said other Latino students were approached by the same teacher and asked about their status. The mother said she intended to have the child return to school.
"Her education is too important for her to miss school, and I trust she will not tell the school about her parent's immigration status," she said. "However, I am very afraid that they might find out, and that they will treat her and us differently because of this new law."
Section 28 of the state's immigration law requires school districts to collect information on students' immigration status when they first enroll. The law does not ban undocumented aliens from attending school.
In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that immigration status was not sufficient grounds to keep a child from public school. Plaintiffs have argued the law will create a "chilling effect," with undocumented parents fearful of enrolling their children in school.
The state attorney general's office has argued the law does not have an enforcement provision and does not deprive any child of a public education.
"Any fear that implementation of Section 28 would lead to investigation of parents' status is not 'well-founded,'" the state argued in a brief filed in a lawsuit against the legislation Monday.
Blackburn last week agreed with the state, writing that Section 28 "does not compel school officials to determine the immigration status of the parent of a student." The Alabama Department of Education, Salter said, has shared information on the law with officials and principals.
"Principals have gotten a variety of information on it and it is our hope they share it with their staff," he said.
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