Immigrant children's access to education, assistance may be targets of state proposals

SALT LAKE CITY — Absent comprehensive federal immigration reform in 2012, advocates for immigrants are bracing for another wave of state legislative proposals in 2012 intended to restrict children's access to education systems and public assistance programs.

Last year, legislation was introduced in more than a dozen states intended to ban immigrant children's access to public colleges and universities as well as impose stricter verification requirements to attend public schools and qualify for public assistance programs such as food stamps.

"We do expect to see more like bills in the future," said Wendy Cervantes, vice president of immigration and child rights policy for the national child advocacy organization First Focus.

Cervantes, addressing a national conference in Salt Lake City hosted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc., said people of faith need to stand up against measures that curb access to education or public assistance programs. Immigrants comprise about 30 percent of the nation's low-income children, thus they are a particularly vulnerable population.

Children of immigrants account for nearly one-fourth all children in the United States and the vast majority are U.S. citizens.

While some states have leveled restrictions on immigrant children attending college — eliminating the option of paying in-state tuition rates or even banning students from enrolling in public colleges and universities — some states have contemplated measures to preclude undocumented children from attending public schools, Cervantes said.

These proposals conflict with a 1982 Supreme Court decision that struck down a Texas state statute that denied funding for education to illegal immigrant children. The court also struck down a municipal school district's attempt to charge tuition to undocumented children to make up for lost state funding.

Equally troubling, Cervantes said, are state legislative proposals intended to curb children's access to public assistance programs such as food stamps or health care programs.

"Many of these kids are in need of safety net programs but are underrepresented in these programs," Cervantes said.

While most immigrant children are American citizens by birthright, many live in mixed-status households. While the children may qualify for food stamps or other assistance, some families hesitate to apply for benefits because they fear undocumented family members will be turned over to federal immigration authorities.