Education is a life and death issue. High school dropouts are 40% more likely to be living in poverty. We don’t know how many undocumented students we have. The law prohibits us questioning children K-12. We guess 3% at a cost of $1B. Parents of undocumented students are afraid to come to the school, so the students receive less support, and the whole school suffers.
Withholding education, and withholding support for schools with undocumented workers is a violation of the equal protection clause (14) according to the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, Arizona and Alabama are asking students for birth certificates. Students have disappeared. What will happen to these children?
We are creating a class system and an underground community. Undocumented children live in a liminal state where they suffer discrimination. The child is trapped in a standstill, while exposed to the tremendous opportunities this country offers. Undocumented children are the list vulnerable group in the US according to studies. They suffer tremendous exploitation.
Out of 202,000 students 60,000 have been identified as English learners. The drop out rate is 39%. Latinos comprise 61.7% of the Houston school system. This puts our society at risk.
The Texas Dream Act allows undocumented workers to attend college and pay resident rates. But when they graduate they still are not authorized to serve burgers at McDonalds. Our current systems creates hope without opportunity.
Enlightened self-interest demands we think more proactively. We need to pass the federal dream act.
