Sunday letters: Educating illegal immigrants

Sunday letters: Educating illegal immigrants

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, June 15, 2008
Julian Garcia, Arlington


You ignored legal students

Re: "Students not learning what they need to – Texas education system needs to be market-driven, says Tom Pauken," Monday Viewpoints and "From Here to There – Immigrants in schools," a five-part series that concluded Thursday.

It is well-known that our high schools are putting out a pathetic product and, as a result, our country and our state are hurting.

How do you think our struggling American high school students will feel when they learn that The Dallas Morning News has ignored them and instead has devoted huge resources to address the plight of the illegal in our public schools?

It makes no sense to ignore the plight of our own U.S. students and to focus only on a small segment of our high school population who are, for the most part, not even citizens of the U.S.

Julian Garcia, Arlington


Charge the employers

Re: "Hard road to the finish – Many new immigrants feel competing pulls of work, education," Sunday news story and the first of five parts in the "From Here to There – Immigrants in schools" series.

In these stories, one thing stood out: At least two of the teenagers had worked construction jobs; one was a welding assistant.

What type of employer would let a 14- to 16-year-old kid work in a dangerous construction job? If I am not mistaken, it is against the labor laws to let anyone under 18 work in a hazardous job. The first step in solving the immigration problem is to go after the employers who are hiring illegal immigrants.

Robert McIver, Garland


Maybe we should bend the law

Re: "Family factors – Backgrounds greatly affect how new immigrants fare in American classrooms," Tuesday news story and the third of five parts in the "From Here to There – Immigrants in schools" series.

As I finished reading the third installment in your series, I was trying to figure out the purpose in writing it. I guess it's the fact that those of us against illegal immigration can get their noses rubbed in the fact that they're here, and there's virtually nothing we can do about it. I resent all the print devoted to the subject.

The illegals come here without compunction and expect us not to violate the law by giving them a free education and benefits. Maybe our school systems should violate the law also and not give them a free education.

Felicity Pearson, McKinney


'Least talented' – how so?

Re: "It's a question of will," by Loyse Whisman, Wednesday Letters and "No excuses – Adamson High principal faces complex job in trying to raise school's results," Thursday news story and the fourth of five parts in the "From Here to There – Immigrants in schools" series.

I read Mr. Whisman's letter after reading the inspiring article about Adamson High School and the incredible principal leading that school, Rawly Sanchez. His dedication to all of his students is to be admired. Thank God he is not narrow-minded and can see the potential in every child, legal or illegal.

I was struck by a sentence in Mr. Whisman's letter calling these immigrants the "least talented people in Mexico." What do you know about them? Nothing. If you want to talk about enforcing our immigration laws, talk about that. But don't put a label that does not apply on a group of people.

Nisey Erskine, Flower Mound


Creating an underground culture

Re: "From Here to There – Immigrants in schools," a five-part series that concluded Thursday.

I followed the series and am astounded with what I see happening. DISD is encouraging the development of a transitory student body that has feeder schools thousands of miles away with core political and cultural roots that are not Dallas.

A small percentage graduate, and how do they legally work? Stolen IDs and under-the-table cash seem to be the only ways, as you cannot work legally in the U.S. without a Social Security number, and many of these students do not have one. It seems Adamson High School and DISD are but way stations on an underground system that is creating a Third World in the U.S. The only thing keeping all these professionals from saying "stop!" is money, and there seems to be a lot of it pouring into creating and sustaining our new Third World.

Roy Underwood, Dallas


Cheered by a balanced look

It's refreshing to read fair and accurate stories about the human side of immigrant children and the struggles they face. Hats off to Adamson High School, their wonderful principal and dedicated teachers.

I know that DISD has many excellent administrators and teachers who love and care for the immigrant children we teach. I teach ESL at Woodrow Wilson High School and am surrounded by dedicated administrators and teachers who love all our children, no matter what color or nationality. It's nice to see The Dallas Morning News feature articles of some of the best that is happening in DISD.

Kyle Yoakum, Sunnyvale


Maybe we should just cave in

I waited for something relevant or useful to show up in your articles on illegal students, and it never did. Instead, we get another "poor mistreated illegal immigrant" story.

I don't know what angers me more – the older illegal students who come here with no English proficiency or the young American citizens born to illegals who are exposed to Telemundo and Univision 24/7 until they start to school. They have no concept of speaking English, and we are expected to pay to teach them. This is not right.

One point you don't seem to be addressing in your puff piece is that if these students do finish high school and manage to get into a Texas college (at Texas-resident tuition rates), they can't legally work in the United States once they graduate.

Maybe we should just grant them all amnesty, sign them up for WIC and welfare, and give them a Democratic voter registration card.

Troy Worthy, Hurst

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-3p_illegaled_0615edi.ART.State.Edition1.4d5042f.html