Should government provide free public education to children of illegal immigrants - Research Paper Example

The right can only be contested from the standpoint of reason. Based on this, lawmakers can make laws or amend the constitution 3. It is difficult to sustain, the expenses that will be required to implement the law is likely huge and American social order can be threatened IV. Conclusion The rights of children of illegal immigrants to free education accorded to citizens of the United States must be rescinded because it threatens order in American society Should children of illegal immigrants be given rights to free education? I. Introduction Offer (2012, p. 187) revealed that “undocumented children still face numerous obstacles when attempting to access public school education.

” New questions have been raised on the “right of children on non-immigrant visas to enroll in school” (Ofer, 2012, pp. 187-188). Addressing the questions is important because around 12 million unauthorized immigrants live in the United States and the past 10 years has recorded an average of about 500,000 illegal entrants to the United States each year (Hanson, 2009). The problem of illegal immigrants appear difficult to solve as illegal immigration continues even large volume of resources have been poured in “securing US borders, ports, and airports; and since 2006, a growing rate of policies have targeted unauthorized immigrants within the country and their employers” (Hanson, 2009, p. 1). . 11). This is specially the case when the expense is taken “relative to the potential gains from eliminating illegal entry” (Hanson, 2009, p. 11). Earlier, Hanson (2007, p. 5) also pointed out that there is even “little evidence that legal immigration is economically preferable to illegal immigration.

” A related question is: should illegal immigrants be given right to free education in the same manner accorded to US citizens? II. Arguments supporting the rights of children of illegal immigrants to free education According to Ofer (2012, p. 187), “thirty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe that undocumented children have the same rights to access a public school education as a children who are United States citizens or immigrant lawfully admitted to the United States.” According to Ofer (2012, p. 188), “in 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v.

Doe that states must not deny the equal protection of the laws to a subclass of children based solely on their immigration status, and that undocumented children have the same right as children who are U.S. citizens or immigrant children lawfully admitted to the United States.” According to Ofer (2012), based on the Supreme Court decision, the right of undocumented children to access free education in the same manner granted to citizens is guaranteed under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

According to Ofer (2012, p. 191), “the Equal Protection Clause provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Most importantly, Offer (2012, p. 192) pointed out that “the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is not confined to the protection of citizens” as the