Ted Cruz questions Supreme Court ruling ordering free education for immigrant kids

Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday that the Supreme Court probably made the wrong decision in 1982 when it ruled that public schools must provide free education to children who are in the country illegally ...

WHO host Jan Mickelson, an immigration hardliner, peppered Cruz with questions about Plyler v. Doe, a Texas case in which the justices ruled 5-4 that states must provide public education for students in the country illegally. Jim Plyler was the school superintendent in Tyler, and Doe referred to families living and working there when Texas cut funding for students living in the country illegally ...

“Plyler v. Doe as a legal matter is certainly binding Supreme Court precedent,” Cruz said. “You can have a theoretical argument about the role of the Supreme Court. But I do think there is value in the principle of stare decisis, which is a Latin term for things which are decided. There is value in legal precedent” ...

“We need to actually win these fights. So I’m focused on how do we repeal every word of Obamacare. How do we stop illegal immigration. Plyler v. Doe becomes a lot less relevant if you don’t have 12 million people living here illegally because we’re securing the borders… and we have a legal immigration system that works properly,” he said ...

CAIRCO Research

Legal Issues for School Districts Related to the Education of Undocumented Children

[...]Due to the limited legal precedent in this area, it is difficult to predict with certainty how courts would decide a case raising any of the questions discussed in this booklet. However, this booklet provides tentative answers that are designed to help school districts minimize their legal risks in light of current law...

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• Since the late 19th century, the United States has restricted immigration into this country. Unsanctioned entry into the United States is a crime, 8 U.S.C. 1325, and those who have entered unlawfully are subject to deportation, 8 U.S.C. 1251, 1252 (1976 ed. and Supp. IV) ...

• Public education is not a "right" granted to individuals by the Constitution. San Antonio Independent School Dist. v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1, 35 (1973) ...

• To be sure, like all persons who have entered the United States unlawfully, these children are subject to deportation ... [Emphasis CAIRCO's]