The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“All you need to know about Republicans’ supposed deep-seated deep-seated concern for innocent life is to read the proposed measure, floated by Gov. Greg Abbot of Texas, that would deny undocumented migrant children access to public education. The governor seems to hope that the Supreme Court’s willingness to overturn Roe v. Wade . . . indicates that the 6-3 conservative majority is open to killing other precedents. In this case, Abbott wants to challenge a 1982 Supreme Court ruling, Plyler v. Doe, that mandates public school schools admit immigrant children regardless of their legal status.
“Abbott is running for his third term in a state’s that increasingly trending purple. But the governor isn’t running to the center, he’s trying to gin up rage on the right. And it seems his advisors have concluded that further demonizing immigrants by denying their children access to education is a winning strategy.
“It’s frightening that Abbott would sink this low to get votes. It’s horrifying that it might work.
“‘Texas already long ago sued the federal government about having to incur the costs of the education program, in a case called Plyler v. Doe.’” Abbott said on a conservative talk show. “And the Supreme Court ruled against us on the issue. . . . I think we will resurrect that case and challenge this issue again, because the expenses are extraordinary and the times are different than when Plyler v. Doe was issued many decades ago.’
“The 1982 opinion, penned by Justice William J. Brennan Jr., struck down a statute that cut off state funds to districts that admit children who hadn’t been ‘legally admitted” to the U.S. (The law had allowed schools to charge students [tuition] or refuse their entry into the district.”
“Justice Brennan Jr.. wrote that the 14th Amendment’s equal justice protection guarantee applied “to anyone” within a state’s boundaries. Brennan . . . argued against punishing kids for their parents’ actions. . . .
“Mark Kende, a professor of law . . . at Drake University Law School, said the Plyler decision has always been vulnerable because of anti-immigrant sentiment fueled by conservative politicians, ‘There’s obviously a contingent of lawmakers and the public who think so-called illegal immigrants cause problems.’” Gov. Gregg Abbott’s Plan to Kick Undocumented Kids out of School Is Sadistic, Tana Geneva, Daily Beast, 5/7/22. [Link]
Fact Check of Above Quote: Tana Geneva, the author of this article, thinks it’s “frightening” that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants to end Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 Supreme Court ruling that forces American taxpayers to provide schooling for illegal aliens. She attributes his stand to political opportunism, a desire to pander to “rage on the right” to gain re-election. The idea of not catering to illegal immigrants may seem like extremism at the radical-left Daily Beast, but it’s a view very much in the mainstream. Gov. Abbott is acting as a stateman, not as an opportunist, by standing up for the legitimate concerns of his constituents.
Plyler v. Doe was a bad ruling which reflected judicial usurpation of an issue properly belonging to the legislative branch. For a detained analysis of this point, click [here]. The ruling was also flawed by interpreting the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to mean that citizens and illegal residents are entitled to all of the same benefits. Carried to its logical conclusion, this would mean the granting of voting rights to illegal aliens.
Justice Brannon also said in his opinion that it was unfair to penalize children for the lawbreaking of their parents. He should have observed that those parents benefit from benefits given to their children. Furthermore, the money to educate them is money taken from the education of American children.
Another argument Brannon made was that Texas had not shown a compelling need for denying public education to illegal pupils. Gov. Abbott rightly notes that the “extraordinary” expenses of educating those pupils today present a much greater need for action than in 1982.
As a final point, it is most ironic that this article quotes a law professor who thinks that “so-called” lawbreakers don’t cause any problems. Perhaps one reason is that he has little fear that an illegal alien will compete for his job. In most cases, only low-income Americans have to worry about such things. Illegal immigration is a cheap and painless cause for America’s elites.