Schools Are Suffering From the Broken Immigration System

The story

The migration crisis is sparking another crisis in local school districts. Areas with heavy migration — far beyond southern border states — face huge enrollment increases, causing an array of issues for teachers and communities.

Schools are dealing with budget shortfalls, teacher shortages, bussing delays, overcrowding, and a classroom environment with more distractions. Migrant children are often traumatized, lagging academically, living in crowded and dangerous shelters, and have little or no parental involvement.

Migrant children are permitted to enroll in U.S. schools in large numbers because the Plyer v. Doe (1982) Supreme Court decision entitles all children, regardless of immigration status, the right to a public school education.

Since 2021, the enormous surge of asylum seekers entering — legally and illegally — has immensely strained the American education system. Last week, President Biden implemented a freeze on illegal migrant asylum requests. Previously, the asylum process could stall deportation for four years, on average.

Beyond the headlines

New migrant enrollees are entering an education system which already had problems. Nearly 10 percent of public schoolteacher jobs were vacated during the pandemic, and states still struggle to fill those vacancies. The influx of students exacerbates the situation, causing overcrowding.

The number of new migrant students is estimated as high as one million, and the influx of students affects taxpayers. An estimate of national education spending on new migrant students is $2 billion for fiscal year 2023, with most costs shouldered by states and localities.

Migrant students often speak little or no English. 26 states have a shortage of English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. Orange County, CA schools are “at least doubling” ESL teachers and still face shortages.

In some districts, many different languages are spoken because migrants crossing the southern border are from a variety of countries — with large increases beginning in 2022 from China, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, and India.

Migrant students are significantly behind their American peers academically. When placed in the same classroom as native English speakers, as is common in lower grades, teachers must navigate the difficult task of leveling up students performing at significantly different grade levels — at times through a translator.

Low rates of parental involvement impact outcomes for new migrant students; many teachers say parental involvement is a key factor in student success. But parents fear coming to school for parent night or PTA meetings because of their immigration status and because they do not speak English.

Problems are compounded when teachers must support psychologically traumatized students. Many are victims of human trafficking; recent reports indicate a large increase in violence, including sexual violence, endured by migrants at the border and along the journey to the U.S.

The sides

During a recent congressional hearing, Republicans attributed the school crisis to a broken immigration system that incentivizes migrants to cross the border. They assert that Biden’s “open border” policy steals resources from American students, degrades learning, strains budgets, and endangers migrants by encouraging them to undertake a perilous journey.

Democrats argued for additional funding. “Children have the right to an education,” said Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT). The former teacher added, “We make accommodations as schools” and went on to denounce the idea that migrants are a drain on classrooms. “I’ve been in an ESL classroom.” Immigrant “students” and “translators are not impeding learning,” she said.

Republicans and their congressional witnesses rejected additional school funding. In 2023, they proposed eliminating all federal Title III ESL funding and reducing Title I funding for high-need schools by 80 percent.

Why it matters

Americans are noticing the impact of mass migration on their everyday lives, and especially in their children’s education. These issues could sway the presidential election, as immigration surges in importance to voters. In one recent poll, it was rated the most important issue by more respondents than any other, except inflation. Education was often described as “important” or “very important.”

The impact on schools also poses questions for citizens. What happens if migrant students attend schools mandated to enroll them, with no resources to teach them English? How will that impact learning for other children? Will states pick up the tab, siphoning resources from other tax-funded necessities? Will school taxes increase? Seemingly boundless problems arise from the deluge of migrant children entering American public schools.