Michael Kopetski: “I think it is important for Members to look at some of the legal liability issues involved in the Rohrabacher amendment.…”

“I think it is important for Members to look at some of the legal liability issues involved in the Rohrabacher amendment. Clearly what it says is that school districts are in danger and could lose all of their Federal funding if they adopt as a policy or de facto not enforce the policy enunciated in the Rohrabacher amendment. Second, they do face losing all of their Federal funds if either a teacher or the district fails to follow up on an accusation made by either a student or a parent that a child in the district is here illegally in this country. Finally, I think the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary's subcommittee alluded to this, but it is a question of how quickly will the ACLU or some other group bring a lawsuit against a school district or a teacher where there is a false accusation of a child being illegally in this country or where they are illegally here and dismissed from the school for that reason. This just invites very expensive lawsuits against the school district, and I think it is important just to get to the basic policy. We are not saying here that the respect for law is not important. We are saying here the issue before us is who is to enforce the law. That is where the solution lies. It is not with the children of America.”