For Immediate Release

NCYL submits a statement for the record in as U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing targeting  Plyler v. Doe

The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) submitted a written statement to push back against a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing today that takes aim at Plyler v. Doe, the landmark 1982 Supreme Court ruling that guarantees every child in the United States the right to a public education regardless of immigration status. In its statement, NCYL calls on Congress to protect Plyler and reject the growing campaign to shut immigrant children out of America’s schools.

“Our democracy is stronger and more enriched because of Plyler and the contributions made by immigrant students,” said NCYL in its statement. “Congress should affirm the critical importance of the Supreme Court’s holding and oppose any efforts to limit or restrict access to education based on immigration status.”

The stakes couldn’t be higher. States including Tennessee, Idaho, and West Virginia are advancing legislation designed to chill immigrant enrollment by requiring schools to collect students’ immigration status, a strategy that is a direct attempt to build a foundation for overturning Plyler altogether. A recent Heritage Foundation report makes that goal explicit.

This attack on Plyler is part of the Trump Administration’s broader efforts to demonize and marginalize immigrant communities and children.  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive immigration enforcement has already driven children out of classrooms across the country. For example, during Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, federal agents repeatedly targeted school districts, forcing Minneapolis schools to go virtual to keep students safe. Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained on his way home from preschool, wearing his bunny hat and Spiderman backpack, personifies the Administration’s unjust enforcement tactics.. School attendance has plummeted nationwide in communities with large immigrant populations as families keep children home out of fear.

NCYL has spent more than 50 years fighting for children at the margins of our legal system, including as counsel in Lau v. Nichols, the 1974 Supreme Court ruling requiring schools to provide meaningful access to education for English Learners. NCYL’s message to Congress today is unambiguous: closing schoolhouse doors to immigrant children isn’t sound or just policy. It’s an attack on children.

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The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transforms our nation’s approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves.