Targeting Schoolchildren

Despite the prohibition outlawing scams to get illegal immigrants to register made twenty years ago by the Supreme Court, last week a new immigration law posed by Alabama that lets the state harass anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant, or even anyone hispanic, was upheld by a judge. A federal judge. The law, though applicable to anyone believed to be in the country illegally, is mainly centered around bullying children of illegals out of school. From now on, all schools will be required to take careful records of the immigration status of all it's students, kindergarden through grade twelve.
The law doesn't set any requirements to becoming a registered citizen, in fact it seems to have no other motive then to push illegal children and their parents out of the country.
The children aren't only under scrutiny for their immigration status, but also the status' of their parents. If their parents aren't registered U.S. citizens, the children are assumed to be illegal as well; a record that will stay with the child.  
This law is outrageous in the sense that children have no control over their parent's actions. Every child has the right to an education; all this law will succeed in doing is cause the illiteracy rate to rise, and possibly leave the local farmers and business men shorthanded. Most illegals will likely only continue further north to more hospitable environments.

While reading this article, it's clear the author has similar believes to me. He calls the new law "viciously xenophobic" and "pernicious" and says that Alabama is "vilifying and victimizing schoolchildren and their families." He predicts the law will just cause minorities to become bitter and fearful.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/targeting-schoolchildren/2011/09/30/gIQAunJBBL_story.html