A new, restrictive immigration law in Alabama has just passed its first
test; a judge ruled Wednesday that several portions of the law could be
put into place, including a section on public school enrollment. The
law, which took effect last Thursday, asks that schools check birth
certificates in cases when a child is enrolling in an Alabama school for
the first time. If school officials deem that the child in question is
not lawfully in the United States or if a birth certificate is not
presented to officials, the officials are required to ask the parent(s)
or guardian(s) to offer other documentation or sign an affidavit
verifying the legal status (citizenship or legal immigrant) of the
student. If such documentation is not given to the officials within 30
days, the school must record that child as “enrolled without birth
certificate” in the state’s database.
Opponents of the law claim that it will have deleterious effects on
children and their parents. They believe that the school systems will
now serve as barriers to the provision of needed education to many
innocent children. Advocates of the law, however, state that it does not
block enrollment; it simply provides officials with a method to track
how many illegal immigrant children are enrolled in the state’s school
system.
