Laura A. Hernandez, guest columnist: Law provides access to a basic education for all, even immigrant children

Waco Tribune-Herald

LAURA A. HERNÁNDEZ Guest columnist

Sunday August 8, 2010

   

 We are all immigrants. As each wave of migrants arrives in our great country, assimilation is hard, both for them and for us. Their culture is different. Their language is unfamiliar. Their habits are strange. Yet assimilation occurs, usually in one generation. They become us.

The United States Supreme Court recognized this fundamental truth as recently as 1982. In a case called Plyler v. Doe, the high court held that undocumented immigrant children have the same right to a free secondary public education as those children who are legally present in our country.

The case arose in response to legislation enacted by the state of Texas that withheld funds from local school districts for students of questionable immigration status. The state further empowered local school districts to deny enrollment to students who were unable to prove their lawful status.

The Supreme Court struck down the law as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. The court explained that equal protection applies to every individual domiciled in the United States, lawful or not.

There were many legal reasons for the Plyler decision. Among them was the fact that the injured parties were minor children who were not responsible for their unlawful entry. But more importantly, the court recognized that education provides the tools we need to participate in a productive and meaningful way in society. The court found that if we completely deprive undocumented children of a basic education, then the inevitable result is a permanent underclass of individuals who lack the skills and resources to make themselves and our society better.

Analyzed in this way, the Supreme Court was deeply troubled by the striking similarity between depriving undocumented children of a secondary education and the comparable deprivation faced by black children as a result of segregation prior to Brown v. Board of Education. The creation of an underclass was simply unacceptable to the high court, especially because it believed that many of these undocumented children would one day become American citizens.

The Supreme Court’s belief was not misplaced. Four years later, President Ronald Reagan successfully championed the 1986 Immigration and Control Act, which conferred amnesty to undocumented aliens present in the United States continuously for five years. Estimates say that about 2.7 million undocumented immigrants received amnesty. The education of the children of these immigrants ensured their ability to become productive members of our society. And just as the Supreme Court predicted, they became us.

Recently, the Tribune-Herald ran a story depicting the struggles of Grecia Cantu, the 2009 valedictorian from University High School, who is also undocumented. Cantu is the child that the Supreme Court sought to protect. Her intelligence and courage are emblematic American traits and the product of our school system. Chances are good that one day she will become an American citizen. When she does, there can be no doubt that the benefit to our society will be great. Cantu will then be us.

Laura A. Hernández is an assistant professor of law at Baylor University. Her published works include “Anchor Babies: Something Less than Equal Under the Equal Protection Clause,” an analysis of the constitutionality of municipal ordinances mandating private enforcement of immigration laws by private landlords and their effect on children.