Alabama's new law requires public schools to report the number of illegal immigrant students to state officials. Putting children in the crossfire of a political battle is unacceptable.
June 17, 2011
This month Alabama enacted the harshest anti-immigration legislation in the nation, surpassing even Arizona's controversial efforts to drive out illegal immigrants.
The new law requires police to check the immigration status of those they stop, bars undocumented immigrants from receiving public benefits or even enrolling in state colleges, and makes it a crime to give a ride to an illegal immigrant. At least four other states have adopted similar measures. But Alabama's law goes a step further. It requires public schools to determine the immigration status of their students and report the number of those who are here illegally to state officials.
Asking students to reveal that they or their parents are undocumented isn't the same as barring them from attending classes, which would be patently illegal. The result, however, will not be all that different. Many parents will opt to pull their children out of school rather than risk disclosing their status and being arrested ...
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-alabama-20110617,0,1874123.story