Political Quotes

“I rise in strong opposition to the Rohrabacher amendment, because I believe it undermines the constitutional principle which guarantees education to all children regardless of their citizen status. Madam Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Rohrabacher amendment which would deny the use of Federal funds to educate undocumented students. The Rohrabacher amendment would impose unfunded mandates on local school districts by requiring all schools which receive Federal funding to identify and collect data on the citizenship status of every student. The mission of our public schools is to educate our children-- all of our children. Our schools have neither the capacity nor the desire to track their students' immigration status. Forcing our educators to serve as agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS] diverts them from their appropriate mission. In addition, this provision would undermine a constitutional principle which guarantees the right of all children, regardless of their citizenship status, access to a public education. The 1982 Supreme Court decision, Plyer versus Doe, requires that States provide a public education to all children. By prohibiting Federal money from being used for undocumented students, the Rohrabacher amendment would shift the costs of educating these children to State and local governments. Madam Chairman, the Rohrabacher amendment would not serve any legitimate public policy purpose.”