A review and analysis of United States laws concerning undocumented students

Abstract

Research for this study focused on analyzing federal statutes, regulations, case law, legal commentary, and historical documents in order to track the development and determine the current status of laws concerning the education of undocumented alien children in public schools in the United States. The primary data for this study was taken from United States Supreme Court, federal appellate, and district court opinions concerning the law regarding educating undocumented alien children in United States public schools. Legislation involving admission or prohibition of undocumented alien children was also analyzed. Findings in this study include: 1) In Plyler v. Doe (1982), the United States Supreme Court held that under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution protected the right of undocumented students to attend public schools. 2) In Martinez v. Bynum (1983), the Court held that residency requirements for school districts are constitutional, only if the requirements are uniformly applied to all on an equal basis. 3) In 1996, the United States District Court, Central District, state of California, in the case of League of United Latin American Citizens, et al. v. Pete Wilson, et al., district court judge Mariana Pfaelzer held that a majority of California’s Proposition 187 was unconstitutional based upon the federal authority over immigration policy.