Arlen Specter: “I believe we will approve far-reaching reform on immigration by striking out the so-called Gallegly amendment, which…”

“I believe we will approve far-reaching reform on immigration by striking out the so-called Gallegly amendment, which allows the States to deny public education to children who are not legally present in the United States. The Gallegly amendment... is fundamentally unfair because it is directed at children. It is my view that the children ought to have an opportunity for education for many reasons. One reason is that if they are to be self-supporting adults, if they are to have an acceptable quality of life and become good citizens or residents of the United States of America, they need an education. Second, if they are not in school, they are going to be on the street, and there will be problems of delinquency, there will be problems of juvenile crime. The answer is not to exclude illegal alien children from having an education, but instead to tighten up the restrictions on illegal immigration and to protect our borders.”