WHOSE CHILDREN ARE THESE?

WHOSE CHILDREN ARE THESE? A RATIONAL APPROACH TO EDUCATING ILLEGAL-ALIEN SCHOOLCHILDREN

Many Americans believe that illegal immigrants are draining the country's scare financial resources. This has sparked a vigorous debate in national politics as to whether immigrants, regardless of their legal status, should be entitled to the same rights and privileges as U.S. citizens. The federal government requires that all persons are entitled to certain benefits, including K-12 education, if they reside in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution to mean that every person, as opposed to every citizen, is entitled to the same benefits offered to any person in the United States, citizen or not.While "aliens have no constitutional right to enter the United States, once they are here they are protected under due process of law and equal protection under the law" afforded to U.S. citizens.[ 1] Opponents of this policy complain that it rewards illegal immigration, and encourages more of it. They also object to illegal immigrants receiving social services because of a belief that they do not contribute to the U.S. economy.

This study examines how federally mandated education policies for illegal-alien schoolchildren places a disproportionate financial burden on certain state and local government budgets. Using a rational model of public policy where the choice of policy is determined by weighing various alternatives to find the one which will provide the maximum benefit for society as a whole, this study explores several options available to the federal government to assist states with the cost of educating illegal-alien schoolchildren. After weighing the potential benefits and consequences of each alternative, this study recommends the adoption of a state-reimbursement program as the best policy alternative. It will allow states to recoup some of their expenditures on public education for illegal-alien schoolchildren, and provide for the collection of much-needed census data to formulate future immigration policy.

Archivo extraído de EBSCOhost.
CARABELLI, M (2009). WHOSE CHILDREN ARE THESE? A RATIONAL APPROACH TO EDUCATING ILLEGAL-ALIEN SCHOOLCHILDREN. International Social Science Review, 84.

Publicado por: Daniela Robledo Romero 143512