The Birmingham News reported that: U.S. Justice Department officials said Friday the department is investigating complaints that Alabama's immigration law is running afoul of federal civil rights laws by denying children access to public education.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez informed state officials that he also expects to check whether other rights regarding housing, public safety and labor are being violated by the state's crackdown on illegal immigrants.
The new scrutiny from the Justice Department intensifies the showdown between Alabama and Washington over whether the state has the right to identify and detain those who do not have permission to be in the country and disrupt their lives to the point that they leave the state voluntarily.
Perez notified Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange of the investigation in an emailed letter Friday.
"In this regard, the civil rights division has recently received complaints in Alabama that may implicate some of the non-discrimination statutes related to education that the U.S. Attorney General has express authority to investigate and enforce including Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ... and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act," Perez wrote.
Perez on Monday had asked school superintendents in 39 Alabama districts for specific enrollment information, especially on those students who had withdrawn from school or had long unexplained absences. Statewide data show that absenteeism among Hispanic students is persistently higher than before Alabama's law went into effect at the end of September.
Alabama's law does not deny undocumented children the right to attend school, but it does require school officials investigate their immigration status. That section of the law is not being enforced because a federal judge has delayed it temporarily, but immigration advocates say it already has frightened families enough to avoid school activities and caused Hispanic children to be bullied. Other sections of the law allow local police and sheriffs to detain anyone who cannot prove they are in the country legally, and ban illegal immigrants from conducting business with any government entity.
The result has been the departure from the state of an unknown number of families and workers who feared deportation of themselves or a family member.
Legal rights
Strange on Wednesday challenged whether Perez had the legal right to pursue student enrollment data because the state and the federal agency are locked in litigation over the constitutionality of Alabama's law. Based on Strange's advice, the interim state superintendent of education told the local districts not to answer Perez' request for data.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez informed state officials that he also expects to check whether other rights regarding housing, public safety and labor are being violated by the state's crackdown on illegal immigrants.
The new scrutiny from the Justice Department intensifies the showdown between Alabama and Washington over whether the state has the right to identify and detain those who do not have permission to be in the country and disrupt their lives to the point that they leave the state voluntarily.
Perez notified Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange of the investigation in an emailed letter Friday.
"In this regard, the civil rights division has recently received complaints in Alabama that may implicate some of the non-discrimination statutes related to education that the U.S. Attorney General has express authority to investigate and enforce including Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ... and the Equal Educational Opportunities Act," Perez wrote.
Perez on Monday had asked school superintendents in 39 Alabama districts for specific enrollment information, especially on those students who had withdrawn from school or had long unexplained absences. Statewide data show that absenteeism among Hispanic students is persistently higher than before Alabama's law went into effect at the end of September.
Alabama's law does not deny undocumented children the right to attend school, but it does require school officials investigate their immigration status. That section of the law is not being enforced because a federal judge has delayed it temporarily, but immigration advocates say it already has frightened families enough to avoid school activities and caused Hispanic children to be bullied. Other sections of the law allow local police and sheriffs to detain anyone who cannot prove they are in the country legally, and ban illegal immigrants from conducting business with any government entity.
The result has been the departure from the state of an unknown number of families and workers who feared deportation of themselves or a family member.
Legal rights
Strange on Wednesday challenged whether Perez had the legal right to pursue student enrollment data because the state and the federal agency are locked in litigation over the constitutionality of Alabama's law. Based on Strange's advice, the interim state superintendent of education told the local districts not to answer Perez' request for data.
Strange late Friday told the Associated Press that Perez did not show him any legal authority to require schools to provide the data, extending the standoff into next week.
The back-and-forth on the student enrollment data started Monday, when Perez wrote that "it has come to our attention that the requirements of Alabama's H.B. 56 may chill or discourage student participation in, or lead to the exclusion of school-age children from, public education programs." He said federal law also requires schools to help children overcome language barriers if English is not their first language.
After Strange challenged the Justice Department's authority, Perez responded Friday that the information his agency was seeking was similar to the data the state reports publicly about student attendance, and that Strange did not represent the school districts.
"We know that the long-standing legal tradition in this country of ensuring the right to attend school without being subject to discrimination on any impermissible ground is as critically important to you as Attorney General for the State of Alabama, as it is to the civil rights division," Perez wrote.
Opponents of Alabama's immigration law supported Perez' efforts.
"We hope state officials will put children and those who educate them above their political agendas," said the Rev. Angie Wright, steering committee member of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and pastor at Beloved Community United Church of Christ in Birmingham. "The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice calls upon Attorney General Strange to allow Alabama school systems to share information with the Department of Justice so that department officials can better understand the chilling effect this law has on the state's school attendance."
The back-and-forth on the student enrollment data started Monday, when Perez wrote that "it has come to our attention that the requirements of Alabama's H.B. 56 may chill or discourage student participation in, or lead to the exclusion of school-age children from, public education programs." He said federal law also requires schools to help children overcome language barriers if English is not their first language.
After Strange challenged the Justice Department's authority, Perez responded Friday that the information his agency was seeking was similar to the data the state reports publicly about student attendance, and that Strange did not represent the school districts.
"We know that the long-standing legal tradition in this country of ensuring the right to attend school without being subject to discrimination on any impermissible ground is as critically important to you as Attorney General for the State of Alabama, as it is to the civil rights division," Perez wrote.
Opponents of Alabama's immigration law supported Perez' efforts.
"We hope state officials will put children and those who educate them above their political agendas," said the Rev. Angie Wright, steering committee member of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and pastor at Beloved Community United Church of Christ in Birmingham. "The Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice calls upon Attorney General Strange to allow Alabama school systems to share information with the Department of Justice so that department officials can better understand the chilling effect this law has on the state's school attendance."
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