Oklahoma Lawmaker: Vet citizenship of non-English-speaking schoolkids

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Lawmaker: Vet citizenship of non-English-speaking schoolkids

By SEAN MURPHY
Today

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A Republican member in the Oklahoma House is suggesting that tens of thousands of non-English speaking students in public schools be turned over to U.S. immigration officials as cost-saving measure in the cash-strapped state.

Broken Arrow Republican Rep. Mike Ritze told News9 in an interview Wednesday that the newly created Republican Platform Caucus believes the state could save $60 million if Oklahoma would identify what the caucus believes is 82,000 non-English speaking students “and then turn them over” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to determine whether they are citizens.

It’s unclear from the segment if he was referring to turning over the students’ names or rounding up the children. The State Department of Education said there are actually about 50,000 English learners in pre-K through 12th grade in Oklahoma public schools, but many of those students could be U.S. citizens.

Ritze also questioned whether the state should have to educate children who aren’t citizens, although a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision holds states cannot deny students a free public education based on their immigration status. Also, the United States also has no official language.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/68994fdbd6c94cd9a773aa479cee4c7d/Lawmaker:-Vet-citizenship-of-non-English-speaking-schoolkids

[benld74]

1. Or just raise OK taxes u moran

[Retrograde]

2. I don't know how common it still is

but it used to be very common for children of immigrants - especially those raised in heavily ethnic communities - to not speak English well. None of my grandparents - all native born citizens who grew up in a strongly Polish community where there was no need to use another language - spoke English as their first language, and all of them spoke with heavy accents their whole lives. My example is very early 20th century - before radio, movies and TV - but there are areas not far from where I live now where it's possible to get by solely in Spanish - and there are probably other places where the predominant immigrant language similarly prevails.

How does he intend to handle students on Indian reservations who had been immersed and maybe taught in their own languages? Of children of recent legal immigrants?

[no_hypocrisy]

3. When my friend entered kindergarten in 1952, he only spoke German.

Because it was his first year in school and both his parents spoke German at home.

He and his family would have questioned for their citizenship under the proposed OK law.

[CurtEastPoint]

4. Wigged pinhead. How nasty.

[beam me up scottie]

5. Never mind how discriminatory that is, how would that be cost effective?

Any estimate how much it would cost to round up close to 100,000 people and vet all of them? Plus I'm pretty sure it's unconstitutional to round people up simply for not speaking English.

Republicans are vile and stupid.