Political Quotes

“I rise in support of H.R. 4134. Congressman Gallegly has raised a very important issue that Congress has too long ignored: who is responsible for educating children who illegally reside in our country? But, the bill still raises some issues that, if never addressed, could be counterproductive. I will discuss those in a moment. The real issue at hand is that illegal immigration imposes a giant unfunded mandate on States and local school districts. Failure to stem illegal immigration is a failure of the Federal Government. But the consequences of failure are paid by State and local governments. Teachers and administrators in Tucson's public schools have told me that as many as 40 percent of pupils in certain schools are illegal immigrants. California estimates the annual cost of educating illegal immigrants in that State alone at $1.8 billion. I'm sure State legislatures and school boards impacted by illegal immigration could find better uses for their taxpayers' hard earned dollars than spending money to educate kids here illegally. Now this bill will not throw any kids out of school immediately, and some States may choose never to avail themselves of its provisions. Rather, this bill allows States to decide for themselves whether to provide free public education benefits to illegal immigrants who are not already enrolled in public schools.”