Undocumented immigrant students in the United States

Undocumented immigrant students in the United States are foreign-born students who are attending school in the country but do not have authorization to live here. For example, these students may have entered the country by crossing the border without authorization or overstayed temporary visas. Some were brought into the United States by their parents when they were young. The majority of undocumented migrants living in the United States entered the country lawfully but did not leave when they were supposed to.

Researchers estimate that 1.09 million undocumented migrant children and young adults live in the United States. The US Supreme Court ruled in Plyer v. Doe in 1982 that because of the equal protection clause in the Constitution, these children have the same right to an education as those living in the country legally. However, many undocumented students face obstacles when receiving an education such as language barriers, fear of deportation, fear for undocumented relatives, harassment from anti-immigrant communities, and bullying. School officials often find themselves with students whose caregivers have been rounded up by immigration officials; as a result, principals and other school administrators have had to find safe places for the students to go after school.

Background

Public education in the United States has a checkered history. Settlers of the original colonies had different views about education. For example, in seventeenth-century Massachusetts, children were required to attend elementary school to learn to read the Bible. Pennsylvanians established free public education for the poor in the state in 1790. However, wealthy families were expected to pay for their children’s education. Many nineteenth-century school systems, such as the New York Public School Society, established free schools for the poor to ensure that they grew up to become obedient factory workers. When 3.1 million immigrants from Europe arrived in the United States between 1846 and 1856, factory owners again looked to free public schools to mold the newcomers into docile employees.

Beginning in the 1840s, reformers systematically developed schools in all states. In these common schools, dozens of students relied on one teacher. The teacher taught the oldest students, who then taught the next-oldest group. This group would then teach the next-oldest group and so on. Such public schools drew considerable opposition. Taxpayers did not want to pay to educate children of all social classes. Churches believed that students would not learn enough about religion or the religious studies they favored. Private school teachers feared they would lose wages and jobs.

One of the first court decisions requiring states to provide education to immigrants was a 1905 US Supreme Court case in California. The court determined that all children were entitled to an education, regardless of family immigration status, and the state was ordered to educate the children of Chinese immigrants. More recent cases in California tried to remove students from schools. Proposition 187 in 1994 made it illegal for children of undocumented immigrants to attend public school. The law, however, was declared unconstitutional by federal courts.

Overview

Undocumented immigrants in the United States face a number of obstacles to obtaining an education. These include language barriers, difficulties in enrolling, and fear of deportation, which prevents some students from attempting to enroll. Those who graduate from high school and wish to pursue secondary education may be unable to do so because of cost or other barriers, based in large part on the state in which they live.

Students who can attain proficiency in English have a greater chance of gaining knowledge in other subjects. Lau v. Nichols established in 1974 that public schools must provide supplemental language instruction; the US Supreme Court found in a unanimous decision that not doing so violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Despite the law, many students receive inadequate English language classes. An estimated 44 percent of undocumented students older than five do not speak English at all or very well. In the fall of 2015, the percentage of US public school students classified as English language learners (ELLs) was 9.5 percent, or 4.8 million students. The percentage was 10 percent or greater in eight states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington. The highest percentage reported, 21 percent, was in California. The vast majority of ELL students, 72 percent, are US citizens. Spanish was the primary language of 3.7 million students and the home language of the majority of ELL students in most states. The majority of ELL students are enrolled in kindergarten, with slightly smaller percentages in each successive grade. The distribution of ELL students in public schools indicates that many become proficient and are no longer classified as ELL students by twelfth grade.

Many undocumented students face challenges when enrolling in school. For example, local district officials may demand proof of residency. Undocumented families may not have formal lease arrangements and therefore no utility bills or other proof of residency. Some districts demand Social Security numbers, despite the courts finding such requirements illegal. Districts in some states, such as Virginia, demand proof that the adult enrolling the student has custody of the child. School districts have encouraged parents to enroll children in alternate programs, which are usually established for unruly students or delay enrollment until after the student body has completed annual standardized tests. Such tactics are usually attributed to school officials’ concerns that ELL students will lower overall scores for the school.

Undocumented students who wish to pursue higher education face many obstacles as well. The law does not guarantee education beyond grade twelve. Undocumented high school graduates are not eligible for federal financial aid, and many states do not provide them with financial aid. The majority of states do not allow undocumented students who have graduated from high school to qualify to pay in-state college tuition rates.

Many undocumented students have been attending US schools under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This allows some undocumented migrants who moved to the United States before age sixteen to apply for two-year stays to avoid deportation. Many of the colleges and states that have eased restrictions on funding for undocumented migrants have done so to support DACA students. In 2017 the administration of President Donald Trump began trying to cancel the DACA program, which protected an estimated seven hundred thousand young adults commonly called Dreamers.

Bibliography

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