Thursday Alabama became the first state in the nation to require public schools to check the immigration status of children when they enroll.
A judge’s ruling Wednesday upheld several portions of Alabama’s tough new immigration law, including the section on public-school enrollment.
Advocates of the law say it doesn’t block enrollment in schools, but simply enables the state to track the number of illegal-immigrant students and calculate the costs associated with educating them.
Could you pass a US citizenship quiz?
Opponents argue that in the broader context of the immigration-enforcement law, the school provision will serve as a barrier for many families and end up denying innocent children their constitutional right to a public education.
Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups are already planning their appeals, but in the meantime, parents and educators are trying to sort out exactly how the law will play out in schools.
“This will have an incredibly chilling effect on
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