The backlash against Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, has continued following her assertion to Congress that deciding whether undocumented immigrant students ought to be reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be up to the schools concerned. Critics argue that the claim could cause fear among immigrant communities and is against the law.
Last month, DeVos told Representative Adriano Espaillat of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that the decision whether to report immigrant students was up to individual schools and communities. Civil rights groups condemned the comments, pointing to a 1982 ruling by the Supreme Court that undocumented immigrant minors have the right to receive a public education, and since then measures to deter or prevent immigrant children from attending schools have been struck down by courts.
In the most recent available data, from 2014, as many as 725,000 K-12 students were undocumented immigrants, the Pew Research Center says. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus staged a news conference soon after DeVos’ appearance, demanding that the Education Secretary set the record straight, accusing her of having a ‘sophomoric understanding’ of US law and that she had recklessly sent school districts across the country a mixed signal that complying with legal precedents and federal law was in some way optional.
Last week, DeVos issued a statement saying that schools should never be immigration enforcement zones, in accordance with ICE policy, but she is still being pressed for further clarification on her stance by congressional Democrats and civil rights groups.