09/20/2008
By JEREMY ROEBUCK / Associated Press
Adrianna Gomez wakes her 14-year-old son before dawn every morning, lays out his coat and tie and drives him across an international boundary just to go to school.
With a full day of classes at Pharr's Oratory Academy followed by soccer and tennis afterward, he often won't return to his spacious Reynosa, Mexico, home until nearly 12 hours later.
Angelita Martinez Morales also hoped her children could attend Rio Grande Valley schools. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested her Aug. 10 as she guided them across the river near Pharr.
She later told a federal magistrate judge she had to get her children — all U.S. citizens — back into the country before the start of the school year.
The two women may be divided by economic status, but ultimately both want the same thing for their children: the best educational opportunities they can provide.
Like hundreds of other families just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, they adjust their schedules, idle in bridge traffic every morning and sometimes break the law — all to send their children to U.S. schools.
"It's a sacrifice," said Gomez, 36, in Spanish. "But the river is inconsequential. It's just a problem of geography."
Some more affluent families like Gomez's attend legally by paying tuition to private schools or even buying homes to establish residency in public school districts. Her son, Ernesto, has his student visas in order and has been preparing to enter U.S. schools since his first English classes in kindergarten.
Plenty of others, though, ignore the rules. They provide fake addresses to enroll at public schools or — like Martinez — enter the country illegally in hopes of staying the whole school year.
While cities in the interior United States have only begun to seriously address this increasing immigrant population at their schools, this daily migration has been a way of life in the Valley for decades.
"In so many families, the community is not divided by a border like the land," said Elaine Hampton, a University of Texas-El Paso professor who has studied educational systems on both sides of the border. "It makes it hard to peg exactly where you live. What constitutes a permanent address?"
UNCERTAIN ENROLLMENT
Nobody knows exactly how many Mexican residents attend schools in the Valley, but some districts estimate they make up as much as 10 percent of their total enrollment.
A 1982 federal court ruling bars public schools from inquiring into the legal residency of students, but those enrolling must prove they live within the district — usually by providing a utility bill.
Some parents are so eager to have their children attend school here they will send them to live with an aunt or grandparent during the week and pick them up to spend their weekends in Mexico.
Others, however, "borrow" the addresses of relatives and friends to enroll their students even though the Mexican family never actually lived there.
"If they come and register with an address that's in the district, we can't deny them," McAllen schools spokesman Mark May said.
But the signs of illegal enrollment are everywhere.
Minivans with Mexican plates stack the pick-up and drop-off lines at schools in Hidalgo, La Joya and Brownsville. Each day, students in school uniforms groggily amble away from the Roma-Miguel Alemán international bridge.
In the predawn fog, teenagers loaded down with book bags avoid eye contact with passersby because of past problems they have had with their district residency.
LACKING RESOURCES
The proliferation of maquiladoras in many Mexican border towns in the past decade has brought dozens of families to cities like Reynosa and Matamoros looking for work, but the region's public school system has not kept up with the growth. Students in Mexican schools attend half-days in cinderblock buildings and go to class in shifts because of school overcrowding.
Parents must pay for uniforms, bus fare and supplies, and in some cases are expected to supplement the school's operating budget.
And a lack of secondary schools prompts many students to drop out after the elementary level. Only 66 percent of 15-year-olds south of the border attend classes on a daily basis, according to a 2003 Mexican government survey.
IT'S NOT FAIR
While some students know they are breaking the law, small districts like Roma don't always look at the students as a problem.
They are often more eager to learn and their parents are more involved because of the effort their families have undertaken to secure their education, district spokesman Ricardo Perez said.
"It's not like they're dumping their kids over here," he said. "They're actively seeking out a better education."
And the higher the school's enrollment, the more state and federal money the district receives.
But larger, more affluent districts like the McAllen school system can't afford to allow students who live outside the district to attend its campuses, said John Wilde, director of student support services for the district.
In addition to straining school resources, students with limited English speaking abilities routinely score lower on standardized tests.
"It's a significant issue," he said. "Imagine if you're paying taxes on a half-million-dollar home because you want your child to go to Garcia Elementary, and then we have to transfer you to another school because Garcia's too crowded. "It's not fair that there may be people that don't live in the district taking your child's spot."
Wilde's office investigates dozens of cases each year of students suspected of lying on their enrollment papers. Using returned mail, reports from other parents and red flags from campus administrators, his employees drop by the listed addresses in the early morning hours to see who really lives where they say they do.
Lying on a public document is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, but the district rarely seeks prosecution against the parents. Expulsion is a more likely response.
A week into the school year, Wilde had already received 30 to 40 red-flag reports that the district will investigate.
GREATER OPPORTUNITIES
Angelita Martinez, the mother arrested for bringing her children across the river, never even got that far. A federal judge sentenced her to 10 days of confinement in a federal detention center. The fate of her children — all of whom she said were U.S. citizens — remains unknown.
Adrianna Gomez, meanwhile, hopes to send her younger children to Oratory's school in Pharr once they reach seventh grade.
She says she has already seen the payoff for her family's sacrifices in her teenage son, Ernesto. A confident 14-year-old who can speak eloquently in Spanish and English, he hopes to go to Yale University and become a lawyer after graduation.
"You can see a big difference between my friends here and over there," he said. "The opportunities over here are just greater."
Showing posts with label ESL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ESL. Show all posts
September 20, 2008
September 13, 2008
Irving ISD enrollment has grown despite worries of a decrease
By KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
kunmuth@dallasnews.com
Irving school enrollment appears to be growing slightly instead of taking a hit as officials had feared.
Last year, the school district suddenly began losing hundreds of students at the end of September, after the deportation of illegal immigrants arrested by local police frightened residents.
Several substandard apartment complexes were also shut down by the city, prompting families to move.
Though the city's Criminal Alien Program and crackdown on code enforcement continue, school enrollment appears to be strong.
Officials counted 33,183 students on Friday, the 14th day of class. That's 35 more students than on the same day last year. District officials had predicted a peak enrollment of 32,764 this year, and a loss of about 425 students.
"I think those worries proved to be unfounded," school board president Jerry Christian said. "If kids left, somebody came in to take their place."
The school district always compares its peak enrollment, the point of highest enrollment, which usually happens within the first six weeks of school. The current enrollment is almost equal to last year's high.
The district's peak last year, which occurred on Sept. 25, was 33,189 students. Shortly after, enrollment quickly dropped. At the time, Superintendent Jack Singley expressed concerns that parents were pulling their children out of schools because of fears about immigration enforcement.
"People just picked up and left the district because they had concerns about what was going on at the city level," said Whit Johnstone, the district's director of planning, evaluation and research.
Officials cautioned that it's still early in the year and enrollment trends are still shifting. But so far the district is gaining a lot of older students. There are about 433 more middle- and high-school students than predicted, while there are 15 fewer elementary students.
Irving officials continue to focus on substandard complexes where many of the district's students live. The week before school started, they shut down the Vista Del Lago apartments.
But school officials worked to make sure homeless students could continue to attend nearby John Haley Elementary.
They also believe that some families affected by apartment closures are moving to different school attendance areas within the district.
kunmuth@dallasnews.com
Irving school enrollment appears to be growing slightly instead of taking a hit as officials had feared.
Last year, the school district suddenly began losing hundreds of students at the end of September, after the deportation of illegal immigrants arrested by local police frightened residents.
Several substandard apartment complexes were also shut down by the city, prompting families to move.
Though the city's Criminal Alien Program and crackdown on code enforcement continue, school enrollment appears to be strong.
Officials counted 33,183 students on Friday, the 14th day of class. That's 35 more students than on the same day last year. District officials had predicted a peak enrollment of 32,764 this year, and a loss of about 425 students.
"I think those worries proved to be unfounded," school board president Jerry Christian said. "If kids left, somebody came in to take their place."
The school district always compares its peak enrollment, the point of highest enrollment, which usually happens within the first six weeks of school. The current enrollment is almost equal to last year's high.
The district's peak last year, which occurred on Sept. 25, was 33,189 students. Shortly after, enrollment quickly dropped. At the time, Superintendent Jack Singley expressed concerns that parents were pulling their children out of schools because of fears about immigration enforcement.
"People just picked up and left the district because they had concerns about what was going on at the city level," said Whit Johnstone, the district's director of planning, evaluation and research.
Officials cautioned that it's still early in the year and enrollment trends are still shifting. But so far the district is gaining a lot of older students. There are about 433 more middle- and high-school students than predicted, while there are 15 fewer elementary students.
Irving officials continue to focus on substandard complexes where many of the district's students live. The week before school started, they shut down the Vista Del Lago apartments.
But school officials worked to make sure homeless students could continue to attend nearby John Haley Elementary.
They also believe that some families affected by apartment closures are moving to different school attendance areas within the district.
August 30, 2008
Migrant Minds: The border is no boundary for some Mexican students
August 30, 2008 - 11:06PM
Jeremy Roebuck
Adrianna Gomez wakes her 14-year-old son before dawn every morning, lays out his coat and tie and drives him across an international boundary just to go to school.
With a full day of classes at Pharr's Oratory Academy followed by soccer and tennis afterward, he often won't return to his spacious Reynosa home until nearly 12 hours later.
Angelita Martinez Morales also hoped her children could attend Rio Grande Valley schools. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested her Aug. 10 as she guided them across the river near Pharr.
She later told a federal magistrate judge she had to get her children - all U.S. citizens - back into the country before the start of the school year.
The two women may be divided by economic status, but ultimately both want the same thing for their children: the best educational opportunities they can provide.
Like hundreds of other families just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, they adjust their schedules, idle in bridge traffic every morning and sometimes break the law - all to send their children to U.S. schools.
"It's a sacrifice," said Gomez, 36, in Spanish. "But the river is inconsequential. It's just a problem of geography."
Some more affluent families - like Gomez's - attend legally by paying tuition to private schools or even buying homes to establish residency in public school districts. Her son, Ernesto, has his student visas in order and has been preparing to enter U.S. schools since his first English classes in kindergarten.
Plenty of others, though, ignore the rules. They provide fake addresses to enroll at public schools or - like Martinez - enter the country illegally in hopes of staying the whole school year.
While cities in the interior United States have only begun to seriously address this increasing immigrant population at their schools, this daily migration has been a way of life in the Valley for decades.
"In so many families, the community is not divided by a border like the land," said Elaine Hampton, a University of Texas-El Paso professor who has studied educational systems on both sides of the border. "It makes it hard to peg exactly where you live. What constitutes a permanent address?"
UNCERTAIN ENROLLMENT
Nobody knows exactly how many Mexican residents attend schools in the Valley, but some districts estimate they make up as much as 10 percent of their total enrollment.
A 1982 federal court ruling bars public schools from inquiring into the legal residency of students, but those enrolling must prove they live within the district - usually by providing a utility bill.
Some parents are so eager to have their children attend school here they will send them to live with an aunt or grandparent during the week and pick them up to spend their weekends in Mexico.
Others, however, "borrow" the addresses of relatives and friends to enroll their students even though the Mexican family never actually lived there.
"If they come and register with an address that's in the district, we can't deny them," McAllen schools spokesman Mark May said.
But the signs of illegal enrollment are everywhere.
Minivans with Mexican plates stack the pick-up and drop-off lines at schools in Hidalgo, La Joya and Brownsville.
Each day, students in school uniforms groggily amble away from the Roma-Miguel Alemán international bridge.
In the predawn fog, teenagers loaded down with book bags avoid eye contact with passersby because of past problems they have had with their district residency.
But 16-year-old Alemania was eager to explain why she risks the morning commute.
"My parents thought this was a better option," she said.
LACKING RESOURCES
Alemania, who spoke on the condition that she not be fully identified, attended public schools in Miguel Alemán, Tamps., until three years ago.
Although she says she preferred her friends in Mexico, she recognizes that the schools in Roma have better resources such as high-tech computer labs, extracurricular activities and English-language training.
The proliferation of maquiladoras in many Mexican border towns in the past decade has brought dozens of families to cities like Reynosa and Matamoros looking for work, but the region's public school system has not kept up with the growth.
Students in Mexican schools attend half-days in cinderblock buildings and go to class in shifts because of school overcrowding.
Parents must pay for uniforms, bus fare and supplies, and in some cases are expected to supplement the school's operating budget.
And a lack of secondary schools prompts many students to drop out after the elementary level. Only 66 percent of 15-year-olds south of the border attend classes on a daily basis, according to a 2003 Mexican government survey.
Fifteen-year-old Joseph has spent time in classrooms on both sides of the river. But as he crossed the Roma-Miguel Alemán bridge last week, he said there is no doubt where he would rather attend.
"Living in Roma is boring," he said. "But the education is much better."
‘IT'S NOT FAIR'
While Alemania and Joseph both know they are breaking the law, small districts like Roma don't always look at students like them as a problem.
They are often more eager to learn and their parents are more involved because of the effort their families have undertaken to secure their education, district spokesman Ricardo Perez said.
"It's not like they're dumping their kids over here," he said. "They're actively seeking out a better education."
And the higher the school's enrollment, the more state and federal money the district receives.
But larger, more affluent districts like the McAllen school system can't afford to allow students who live outside the district to attend its campuses, said John Wilde, director of student support services for the district.
In addition to straining school resources, students with limited English speaking abilities routinely score lower on standardized tests.
"It's a significant issue," he said. "Imagine if you're paying taxes on a half-million-dollar home because you want your child to go to Garcia Elementary, and then we have to transfer you to another school because Garcia's too crowded.
"It's not fair that there may be people that don't live in the district taking your child's spot."
Wilde's office investigates dozens of cases each year of students suspected of lying on their enrollment papers.
Using returned mail, reports from other parents and red flags from campus administrators, his employees drop by the listed addresses in the early morning hours to see who really lives where they say they do.
Lying on a public document is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, but the district rarely seeks prosecution against the parents. Expulsion is a more likely response.
A week into this school year, Wilde has already received 30 to 40 red-flag reports that the district plans to begin investigating in the coming weeks.
GREATER OPPORTUNITIES
Angelita Martinez, the mother arrested for bringing her children across the river, never even got that far. A federal judge sentenced her to 10 days of confinement in a federal detention center. The fate of her children - all of whom she said were U.S. citizens - remains unknown.
Adrianna Gomez, meanwhile, hopes to send her younger children to Oratory's school in Pharr once they reach seventh grade.
She says she has already seen the payoff for her family's sacrifices in her teenage son, Ernesto.
A confident 14-year-old who can speak eloquently in Spanish and English, he hopes to go to Yale University and become a lawyer after graduation.
"You can see a big difference between my friends here and over there," he said. "The opportunities over here are just greater."
Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.ok
Jeremy Roebuck
Adrianna Gomez wakes her 14-year-old son before dawn every morning, lays out his coat and tie and drives him across an international boundary just to go to school.
With a full day of classes at Pharr's Oratory Academy followed by soccer and tennis afterward, he often won't return to his spacious Reynosa home until nearly 12 hours later.
Angelita Martinez Morales also hoped her children could attend Rio Grande Valley schools. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested her Aug. 10 as she guided them across the river near Pharr.
She later told a federal magistrate judge she had to get her children - all U.S. citizens - back into the country before the start of the school year.
The two women may be divided by economic status, but ultimately both want the same thing for their children: the best educational opportunities they can provide.
Like hundreds of other families just south of the U.S.-Mexico border, they adjust their schedules, idle in bridge traffic every morning and sometimes break the law - all to send their children to U.S. schools.
"It's a sacrifice," said Gomez, 36, in Spanish. "But the river is inconsequential. It's just a problem of geography."
Some more affluent families - like Gomez's - attend legally by paying tuition to private schools or even buying homes to establish residency in public school districts. Her son, Ernesto, has his student visas in order and has been preparing to enter U.S. schools since his first English classes in kindergarten.
Plenty of others, though, ignore the rules. They provide fake addresses to enroll at public schools or - like Martinez - enter the country illegally in hopes of staying the whole school year.
While cities in the interior United States have only begun to seriously address this increasing immigrant population at their schools, this daily migration has been a way of life in the Valley for decades.
"In so many families, the community is not divided by a border like the land," said Elaine Hampton, a University of Texas-El Paso professor who has studied educational systems on both sides of the border. "It makes it hard to peg exactly where you live. What constitutes a permanent address?"
UNCERTAIN ENROLLMENT
Nobody knows exactly how many Mexican residents attend schools in the Valley, but some districts estimate they make up as much as 10 percent of their total enrollment.
A 1982 federal court ruling bars public schools from inquiring into the legal residency of students, but those enrolling must prove they live within the district - usually by providing a utility bill.
Some parents are so eager to have their children attend school here they will send them to live with an aunt or grandparent during the week and pick them up to spend their weekends in Mexico.
Others, however, "borrow" the addresses of relatives and friends to enroll their students even though the Mexican family never actually lived there.
"If they come and register with an address that's in the district, we can't deny them," McAllen schools spokesman Mark May said.
But the signs of illegal enrollment are everywhere.
Minivans with Mexican plates stack the pick-up and drop-off lines at schools in Hidalgo, La Joya and Brownsville.
Each day, students in school uniforms groggily amble away from the Roma-Miguel Alemán international bridge.
In the predawn fog, teenagers loaded down with book bags avoid eye contact with passersby because of past problems they have had with their district residency.
But 16-year-old Alemania was eager to explain why she risks the morning commute.
"My parents thought this was a better option," she said.
LACKING RESOURCES
Alemania, who spoke on the condition that she not be fully identified, attended public schools in Miguel Alemán, Tamps., until three years ago.
Although she says she preferred her friends in Mexico, she recognizes that the schools in Roma have better resources such as high-tech computer labs, extracurricular activities and English-language training.
The proliferation of maquiladoras in many Mexican border towns in the past decade has brought dozens of families to cities like Reynosa and Matamoros looking for work, but the region's public school system has not kept up with the growth.
Students in Mexican schools attend half-days in cinderblock buildings and go to class in shifts because of school overcrowding.
Parents must pay for uniforms, bus fare and supplies, and in some cases are expected to supplement the school's operating budget.
And a lack of secondary schools prompts many students to drop out after the elementary level. Only 66 percent of 15-year-olds south of the border attend classes on a daily basis, according to a 2003 Mexican government survey.
Fifteen-year-old Joseph has spent time in classrooms on both sides of the river. But as he crossed the Roma-Miguel Alemán bridge last week, he said there is no doubt where he would rather attend.
"Living in Roma is boring," he said. "But the education is much better."
‘IT'S NOT FAIR'
While Alemania and Joseph both know they are breaking the law, small districts like Roma don't always look at students like them as a problem.
They are often more eager to learn and their parents are more involved because of the effort their families have undertaken to secure their education, district spokesman Ricardo Perez said.
"It's not like they're dumping their kids over here," he said. "They're actively seeking out a better education."
And the higher the school's enrollment, the more state and federal money the district receives.
But larger, more affluent districts like the McAllen school system can't afford to allow students who live outside the district to attend its campuses, said John Wilde, director of student support services for the district.
In addition to straining school resources, students with limited English speaking abilities routinely score lower on standardized tests.
"It's a significant issue," he said. "Imagine if you're paying taxes on a half-million-dollar home because you want your child to go to Garcia Elementary, and then we have to transfer you to another school because Garcia's too crowded.
"It's not fair that there may be people that don't live in the district taking your child's spot."
Wilde's office investigates dozens of cases each year of students suspected of lying on their enrollment papers.
Using returned mail, reports from other parents and red flags from campus administrators, his employees drop by the listed addresses in the early morning hours to see who really lives where they say they do.
Lying on a public document is a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, but the district rarely seeks prosecution against the parents. Expulsion is a more likely response.
A week into this school year, Wilde has already received 30 to 40 red-flag reports that the district plans to begin investigating in the coming weeks.
GREATER OPPORTUNITIES
Angelita Martinez, the mother arrested for bringing her children across the river, never even got that far. A federal judge sentenced her to 10 days of confinement in a federal detention center. The fate of her children - all of whom she said were U.S. citizens - remains unknown.
Adrianna Gomez, meanwhile, hopes to send her younger children to Oratory's school in Pharr once they reach seventh grade.
She says she has already seen the payoff for her family's sacrifices in her teenage son, Ernesto.
A confident 14-year-old who can speak eloquently in Spanish and English, he hopes to go to Yale University and become a lawyer after graduation.
"You can see a big difference between my friends here and over there," he said. "The opportunities over here are just greater."
Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.ok
August 28, 2008
We the People - Writer misses point on language
Writer misses point on language
05:22 PM CDT on Thursday, August 28, 2008
Re: "A message for the English-only ultra-patriots – This argument isn't really about language, muses Mary Sanchez. It's about punishing immigrants," Sunday Points.
With few exceptions, history has shown that people who don't speak the same language cannot create a common culture and that people of different cultures eventually don't want to live together. We seek a common language to preserve our union.
California is not known as a bastion of right-wing America-first-ers. When bilingual education was struck down there, it was due to the support of the Hispanic community. Those immigrants understand the necessity of speaking the language of the society they live in. Ms. Sanchez should get out more and learn that there isn't an immigrant-punishing cross-burner hiding around every corner.
Gerald Meazell, Frisco
05:22 PM CDT on Thursday, August 28, 2008
Re: "A message for the English-only ultra-patriots – This argument isn't really about language, muses Mary Sanchez. It's about punishing immigrants," Sunday Points.
With few exceptions, history has shown that people who don't speak the same language cannot create a common culture and that people of different cultures eventually don't want to live together. We seek a common language to preserve our union.
California is not known as a bastion of right-wing America-first-ers. When bilingual education was struck down there, it was due to the support of the Hispanic community. Those immigrants understand the necessity of speaking the language of the society they live in. Ms. Sanchez should get out more and learn that there isn't an immigrant-punishing cross-burner hiding around every corner.
Gerald Meazell, Frisco
August 3, 2008
Is immigrant status relevant in school violence research?
An analysis with Latino students.(Research Article)(Report)
Publication Date: 01-JUL-08
Publication Title: Journal of School Health
Format: Online
Author: Peguero, Anthony A.
Description
Are immigrant status and English-speaking proficiency pertinent factors in relationship to detrimental school violence-related student outcomes (ie, violent and property student victimization, fear, and formal disciplinary school sanction), in particular for Latino students? With the increasing population of Latinos in our society, school violence researchers have begun to investigate the unique school experiences of Latino students. However, the findings are not always consistent. The rates for Latino students fall in between the least likely and the most likely group to be exposed to school violence in comparison to white and black students. (1,2) As a result, it appears that Latino students' experiences with school violence are distinct in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups as well as within the Latino population. These inconsistent findings beg the question--what makes Latino students' experiences with school violence unique? As a result, some researchers suggest that the relationship between student immigrant status and school violence-related outcomes warrants further research. (2,3)
Importance of Investigating Latino Student Victimization
According to the 2000 US Census, about 43% of the Latino US population does not have a high school degree. Furthermore, Latino high school students are less likely to attend postsecondary institutions in comparison to white, black, and Asian students. (4-6) Latino students have relatively lower achievement scores, (7) attainment, (4) extracurricular activity involvement, (8) and educational aspirations (9) in comparison to their white counterparts.
Because education is a vital commodity toward establishing adult economic stability, investigating the overall school experience for Latino students is imperative. Hence, this research study focuses on examining the possible importance of investigating the relationships between immigrant status-related variables and school violence-related outcomes for Latino students. Since previous literature on the relationship between immigrant status and school violence is limited, comparable school and community criminology research is examined.
Immigrant Status, English Proficiency, and Latino Students' School Experiences
The factors of immigrant status and English-speaking proficiency are extensively examined in educational literature. Immigrant children are more likely to drop out of high school than US native-born students with US native-born parents. (5,10) Other educational research findings indicate that immigrant children's perceptions of achievement and attainment differ in comparison to US native-born students. (7) Other studies have also revealed distinctive relationships between immigrant children and their levels of achievement. (9,11,12) Furthermore, Bohon, Johnson, and Gorman (2006) (13) found that immigrant status was linked to educational college aspirations and expectations.
Immigrant status has also been found to be an important factor with many school-related experiences for students. Kao and Tienda (9) argue that it is not the student or child's place of birth that was relevant to his or her relationship with educational attainment but rather the student's parent's birthplace. There are differences between first-, second-, and third-generation immigrant students and their educational achievement. There are distinctions between first- and second-generation immigrant students in relationship to their scholastic performance or educational achievement. However, both first- and second-generation immigrants outperform third-generation immigrant (also referred as US native or nonimmigrant) Latino students. Immigrant status, educational achievement, and English-speaking skills are also closely associated. (9)
The role of English proficiency for immigrant children is associated with a number of student experiences within US schools. Immigrant children with thick or heavy accents or with low English-speaking capabilities are often subjugated to negative treatment such as discrimination, ridicule, and harassment from other students, teachers, and school administrators. (14,15) Bilingual immigrant children, in comparison to immigrant children with low English proficiency, have higher test scores, higher self-esteem, lower levels of depression, higher educational and career aspirations, and fewer conflicts with parents. (11) Furthermore, in 2003, Gebhard (16) finds that limited English proficient (LEP) students are often placed in classes or academic tracks far from the mainstream classes. As a result, LEP students often have fewer opportunities to converse with and learn from native US English-speaking students, which in turn hinder their academic progress.
Although previous research in education suggests that immigration status may be another student factor in understanding ethnicity and school violence-related outcomes, (12,17) few studies investigated the relationship between student immigration status and experiences with violence. School researchers provide evidence that immigrant status is an important factor associated with a variety of detrimental student outcomes for immigrant students. Immigrants status is a significant factor with dropping out, (18,19) low achievement scores, (11,12) drug use, (11,20) and gang involvement. (1) However, the degree and the type of relationship between immigrant status and the aforementioned detrimental outcomes vary depending upon a number of immigration-related factors, as well as being first-, second-, or third-generation immigrant students.
Publication Date: 01-JUL-08
Publication Title: Journal of School Health
Format: Online
Author: Peguero, Anthony A.
Description
Are immigrant status and English-speaking proficiency pertinent factors in relationship to detrimental school violence-related student outcomes (ie, violent and property student victimization, fear, and formal disciplinary school sanction), in particular for Latino students? With the increasing population of Latinos in our society, school violence researchers have begun to investigate the unique school experiences of Latino students. However, the findings are not always consistent. The rates for Latino students fall in between the least likely and the most likely group to be exposed to school violence in comparison to white and black students. (1,2) As a result, it appears that Latino students' experiences with school violence are distinct in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups as well as within the Latino population. These inconsistent findings beg the question--what makes Latino students' experiences with school violence unique? As a result, some researchers suggest that the relationship between student immigrant status and school violence-related outcomes warrants further research. (2,3)
Importance of Investigating Latino Student Victimization
According to the 2000 US Census, about 43% of the Latino US population does not have a high school degree. Furthermore, Latino high school students are less likely to attend postsecondary institutions in comparison to white, black, and Asian students. (4-6) Latino students have relatively lower achievement scores, (7) attainment, (4) extracurricular activity involvement, (8) and educational aspirations (9) in comparison to their white counterparts.
Because education is a vital commodity toward establishing adult economic stability, investigating the overall school experience for Latino students is imperative. Hence, this research study focuses on examining the possible importance of investigating the relationships between immigrant status-related variables and school violence-related outcomes for Latino students. Since previous literature on the relationship between immigrant status and school violence is limited, comparable school and community criminology research is examined.
Immigrant Status, English Proficiency, and Latino Students' School Experiences
The factors of immigrant status and English-speaking proficiency are extensively examined in educational literature. Immigrant children are more likely to drop out of high school than US native-born students with US native-born parents. (5,10) Other educational research findings indicate that immigrant children's perceptions of achievement and attainment differ in comparison to US native-born students. (7) Other studies have also revealed distinctive relationships between immigrant children and their levels of achievement. (9,11,12) Furthermore, Bohon, Johnson, and Gorman (2006) (13) found that immigrant status was linked to educational college aspirations and expectations.
Immigrant status has also been found to be an important factor with many school-related experiences for students. Kao and Tienda (9) argue that it is not the student or child's place of birth that was relevant to his or her relationship with educational attainment but rather the student's parent's birthplace. There are differences between first-, second-, and third-generation immigrant students and their educational achievement. There are distinctions between first- and second-generation immigrant students in relationship to their scholastic performance or educational achievement. However, both first- and second-generation immigrants outperform third-generation immigrant (also referred as US native or nonimmigrant) Latino students. Immigrant status, educational achievement, and English-speaking skills are also closely associated. (9)
The role of English proficiency for immigrant children is associated with a number of student experiences within US schools. Immigrant children with thick or heavy accents or with low English-speaking capabilities are often subjugated to negative treatment such as discrimination, ridicule, and harassment from other students, teachers, and school administrators. (14,15) Bilingual immigrant children, in comparison to immigrant children with low English proficiency, have higher test scores, higher self-esteem, lower levels of depression, higher educational and career aspirations, and fewer conflicts with parents. (11) Furthermore, in 2003, Gebhard (16) finds that limited English proficient (LEP) students are often placed in classes or academic tracks far from the mainstream classes. As a result, LEP students often have fewer opportunities to converse with and learn from native US English-speaking students, which in turn hinder their academic progress.
Although previous research in education suggests that immigration status may be another student factor in understanding ethnicity and school violence-related outcomes, (12,17) few studies investigated the relationship between student immigration status and experiences with violence. School researchers provide evidence that immigrant status is an important factor associated with a variety of detrimental student outcomes for immigrant students. Immigrants status is a significant factor with dropping out, (18,19) low achievement scores, (11,12) drug use, (11,20) and gang involvement. (1) However, the degree and the type of relationship between immigrant status and the aforementioned detrimental outcomes vary depending upon a number of immigration-related factors, as well as being first-, second-, or third-generation immigrant students.
Bilingual education court ruling particularly impacts Valley schools
August 3, 2008 - 4:35PM
Ryan Holeywell
McALLEN - A federal court ruling last week could affect every school district in the Rio Grande Valley.
The ruling forces the Texas Education Agency to overhaul its system for teaching and monitoring the progress of students with limited English proficiency by Jan. 31.
The impact could be especially strong here in the Rio Grande Valley, where 39 percent of students are LEPs, and every district has at least some students with limited English skills.
"...TEA has not met its obligation to remedy the language deficiencies of Texas students," wrote U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice in a 95-page opinion.
More than half the students in the Valley View, Hidalgo, Rio Grande City, Donna and Roma districts are classified as having limited proficiency with the English language.
"Obviously, we're not doing something right," said Ofelia Gaona, director of the bilingual department in Donna. "The only ones paying the price are the children."
The League of United Latin American Citizens and the GI Forum, which advocate for Hispanic-American equal rights, were the plaintiffs in the case.
Justice wrote that "the statistics for secondary LEP students are undeniably egregious."
The ruling cited a 16.3-percent dropout rate for LEP students who should have graduated in 2004, compared to 3.9 percent of all students.
The ruling also cited disparate test scores and retention rates between secondary LEP students and their peers.
"The failure of secondary LEP students under every metric clearly and convincingly demonstrates student failure, and accordingly, the failure of the ESL secondary program in Texas," Justice wrote.
Suzanne Marchman, a TEA spokeswoman, said the agency was disappointed with the judge's decision and would likely ask the Attorney General to appeal the ruling.
Marchman declined to respond to the ruling's specific criticisms of TEA, citing the pending litigation.
David Hinojosa, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he is hopeful - but not optimistic - that TEA will make changes that "give teeth" to the state's ESL programs. Those changes must be implemented for the 2009-2010 school year, according to Justice's ruling.
"These students have long been ignored, and it all starts with the state," Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa said if the state does not meet the Jan. 31 deadline, it would likely face some sort of sanction from the federal court. Arizona faced financial sanctions in 2005 for failing to comply with a deadline set by a federal judge in a similar case.
Justice also described "fatal flaws" in TEA's system for monitoring LEP students' performance, which fails to identify all LEP students and masks poor performance by aggregating data between multiple grade levels.
In Texas, LEP students receive bilingual education through sixth grade and take ESL instruction in grades seven and higher.
That system was implemented 25 years ago, but Justice wrote it is clear that TEA "failed to achieve results" in that time.
Nearly all LEP students in Texas are Hispanic, but according to the ruling, just 13 percent of them are classified as immigrants.
The ruling even cited a deposition of former TEA Commissioner Shirley Neeley, who said there's "not anybody in their right mind that would say these are good scores."
Hinojosa said there are no statewide standards that define what an ESL program really is, and ESL is implemented "at the whim of school districts." Gaona said she believes the bilingual and ESL programs schools use should be based on solid research.
"You can do practically anything to satisfy an ESL program," Hinojosa said.
____
Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.
Ryan Holeywell
McALLEN - A federal court ruling last week could affect every school district in the Rio Grande Valley.
The ruling forces the Texas Education Agency to overhaul its system for teaching and monitoring the progress of students with limited English proficiency by Jan. 31.
The impact could be especially strong here in the Rio Grande Valley, where 39 percent of students are LEPs, and every district has at least some students with limited English skills.
"...TEA has not met its obligation to remedy the language deficiencies of Texas students," wrote U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice in a 95-page opinion.
More than half the students in the Valley View, Hidalgo, Rio Grande City, Donna and Roma districts are classified as having limited proficiency with the English language.
"Obviously, we're not doing something right," said Ofelia Gaona, director of the bilingual department in Donna. "The only ones paying the price are the children."
The League of United Latin American Citizens and the GI Forum, which advocate for Hispanic-American equal rights, were the plaintiffs in the case.
Justice wrote that "the statistics for secondary LEP students are undeniably egregious."
The ruling cited a 16.3-percent dropout rate for LEP students who should have graduated in 2004, compared to 3.9 percent of all students.
The ruling also cited disparate test scores and retention rates between secondary LEP students and their peers.
"The failure of secondary LEP students under every metric clearly and convincingly demonstrates student failure, and accordingly, the failure of the ESL secondary program in Texas," Justice wrote.
Suzanne Marchman, a TEA spokeswoman, said the agency was disappointed with the judge's decision and would likely ask the Attorney General to appeal the ruling.
Marchman declined to respond to the ruling's specific criticisms of TEA, citing the pending litigation.
David Hinojosa, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he is hopeful - but not optimistic - that TEA will make changes that "give teeth" to the state's ESL programs. Those changes must be implemented for the 2009-2010 school year, according to Justice's ruling.
"These students have long been ignored, and it all starts with the state," Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa said if the state does not meet the Jan. 31 deadline, it would likely face some sort of sanction from the federal court. Arizona faced financial sanctions in 2005 for failing to comply with a deadline set by a federal judge in a similar case.
Justice also described "fatal flaws" in TEA's system for monitoring LEP students' performance, which fails to identify all LEP students and masks poor performance by aggregating data between multiple grade levels.
In Texas, LEP students receive bilingual education through sixth grade and take ESL instruction in grades seven and higher.
That system was implemented 25 years ago, but Justice wrote it is clear that TEA "failed to achieve results" in that time.
Nearly all LEP students in Texas are Hispanic, but according to the ruling, just 13 percent of them are classified as immigrants.
The ruling even cited a deposition of former TEA Commissioner Shirley Neeley, who said there's "not anybody in their right mind that would say these are good scores."
Hinojosa said there are no statewide standards that define what an ESL program really is, and ESL is implemented "at the whim of school districts." Gaona said she believes the bilingual and ESL programs schools use should be based on solid research.
"You can do practically anything to satisfy an ESL program," Hinojosa said.
____
Ryan Holeywell covers PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4446.
July 29, 2008
Texas probably will appeal ruling about bilingual education
12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, July 29, 2008
By TERRENCE STUTZ and KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Texas will probably appeal a court ruling mandating a new language program for an estimated 140,000 junior high and high school students who don't have command of the English language, state officials said Monday.
Legislative leaders said curriculum improvements for that group of mostly Hispanic students are probably on the way regardless of the appeal.
The chairmen of the House and Senate education committees said lawmakers were already zeroing in on the problems of limited-English students – including low test scores and high dropout rates – before U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice ruled Friday that the state has failed to properly educate those students.
In issuing the surprise decision, the longtime federal judge reversed his own July 2007 ruling that affirmed the state's bilingual education programs. His new order gives the state until Jan. 31 to come up with a different plan.
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said her panel is exploring legislation that would upgrade instruction and beef up dropout prevention programs for limited-English students.
"While our elementary school students are doing very well, we recognize there are problems in our high schools that we want to address," she said.
House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, touted legislation to provide state funding for dual-language immersion programs to replace traditional bilingual and English-as-a-second-language – ESL – classes.
Dual language
Under a dual-language program, students learn some subjects in their native language for a half-day and other subjects in English for the rest of the day.
"I thought this was a good solution last session," said Mr. Eissler, who passed a bill that set up a pilot program of dual-language immersion only to see it fail to get funding at the end of the 2007 session.
"We had some resistance from members who thought it was another giveaway to illegal immigrants," he said. "The truth is this is a great opportunity for kids to learn another language at an age-appropriate time. I hope this [court order] gives us some impetus to try out new approaches like this."
The attorney general's office is still deciding how to respond to Judge Justice's order, but the Texas Education Agency is expected to ask the attorney general to lodge an appeal.
"We are disappointed that the judge reversed his original order of a year ago," said Debbie Ratcliffe of the TEA. "We are continuing to study this latest ruling, but we do anticipate asking the attorney general to appeal."
Ms. Ratcliffe said the state "absolutely stands" by its programs for limited-English students and noted that even Judge Justice had positive views about the state's bilingual education programs for elementary school students in his original order.
"We know that these programs have been effective for thousands of students," she said. Even so, the TEA will do contingency planning for program changes that must be submitted to the judge by the end of January, she added.
State officials had no estimates on how much compliance with the federal court order would cost, but some observers said remediation for the 140,000 secondary students could cost $500 or more per student – or a minimum $70 million a year. Improved state monitoring of local bilingual and ESL programs – also ordered by Judge Justice – could push the cost over $100 million.
Irving Superintendent Jack Singley said much work must be done to improve programs for students learning English. Irving had the highest percentage of limited English students in the North Texas region last year – about 39 percent of students enrolled. About 4,704 of their roughly 12,851 limited English proficient – LEP – students were in ESL programs.
Most Irving students have been in U.S. schools for a number of years. Just 5 percent last year had been attending U.S. schools less than three years.
"I don't feel very comfortable about our ESL programs statewide, absolutely not," Mr. Singley said. "That's not as good a program as the bilingual program. It leads me to believe there's a lot of work to be done to deliver a different program. I have no idea what that's going to look like."
Many LEP students can speak conversational English without having mastered the vocabulary necessary to understand textbooks or to pass the graduation TAKS exams.
Dropout rate
Recently retired University of North Texas education professor Rudy Rodriguez, an expert on the issue, said the high dropout rate of Latino students in Texas is tied directly to inadequate programs.
"The decision reinforces the need and urgency for us to do something as a state," he said. "We need to develop new programs and new approaches in meeting the needs of these children. My hope is that the state will see this as an opportunity to improve the quality of the programs and not see it as a threat."
David Hinojosa of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, said TEA must come up with a plan that fixes the system.
"I don't know how on earth the state can say the ESL program is successful in any manner," he said, noting, "They're not being told to develop a whole new program. It just needs to be a program with some teeth in it."
Mr. Hinojosa said improvements "will require a commitment not only from the state, but also from school districts and principals. Many of our schools have been neglecting the needs of these students by holding low expectations for them and providing poor resources for their education."
tstutz@dallasnews.com;
kunmuth@dallasnews.com
By TERRENCE STUTZ and KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN – Texas will probably appeal a court ruling mandating a new language program for an estimated 140,000 junior high and high school students who don't have command of the English language, state officials said Monday.
Legislative leaders said curriculum improvements for that group of mostly Hispanic students are probably on the way regardless of the appeal.
The chairmen of the House and Senate education committees said lawmakers were already zeroing in on the problems of limited-English students – including low test scores and high dropout rates – before U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice ruled Friday that the state has failed to properly educate those students.
In issuing the surprise decision, the longtime federal judge reversed his own July 2007 ruling that affirmed the state's bilingual education programs. His new order gives the state until Jan. 31 to come up with a different plan.
Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, said her panel is exploring legislation that would upgrade instruction and beef up dropout prevention programs for limited-English students.
"While our elementary school students are doing very well, we recognize there are problems in our high schools that we want to address," she said.
House Public Education Committee Chairman Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, touted legislation to provide state funding for dual-language immersion programs to replace traditional bilingual and English-as-a-second-language – ESL – classes.
Dual language
Under a dual-language program, students learn some subjects in their native language for a half-day and other subjects in English for the rest of the day.
"I thought this was a good solution last session," said Mr. Eissler, who passed a bill that set up a pilot program of dual-language immersion only to see it fail to get funding at the end of the 2007 session.
"We had some resistance from members who thought it was another giveaway to illegal immigrants," he said. "The truth is this is a great opportunity for kids to learn another language at an age-appropriate time. I hope this [court order] gives us some impetus to try out new approaches like this."
The attorney general's office is still deciding how to respond to Judge Justice's order, but the Texas Education Agency is expected to ask the attorney general to lodge an appeal.
"We are disappointed that the judge reversed his original order of a year ago," said Debbie Ratcliffe of the TEA. "We are continuing to study this latest ruling, but we do anticipate asking the attorney general to appeal."
Ms. Ratcliffe said the state "absolutely stands" by its programs for limited-English students and noted that even Judge Justice had positive views about the state's bilingual education programs for elementary school students in his original order.
"We know that these programs have been effective for thousands of students," she said. Even so, the TEA will do contingency planning for program changes that must be submitted to the judge by the end of January, she added.
State officials had no estimates on how much compliance with the federal court order would cost, but some observers said remediation for the 140,000 secondary students could cost $500 or more per student – or a minimum $70 million a year. Improved state monitoring of local bilingual and ESL programs – also ordered by Judge Justice – could push the cost over $100 million.
Irving Superintendent Jack Singley said much work must be done to improve programs for students learning English. Irving had the highest percentage of limited English students in the North Texas region last year – about 39 percent of students enrolled. About 4,704 of their roughly 12,851 limited English proficient – LEP – students were in ESL programs.
Most Irving students have been in U.S. schools for a number of years. Just 5 percent last year had been attending U.S. schools less than three years.
"I don't feel very comfortable about our ESL programs statewide, absolutely not," Mr. Singley said. "That's not as good a program as the bilingual program. It leads me to believe there's a lot of work to be done to deliver a different program. I have no idea what that's going to look like."
Many LEP students can speak conversational English without having mastered the vocabulary necessary to understand textbooks or to pass the graduation TAKS exams.
Dropout rate
Recently retired University of North Texas education professor Rudy Rodriguez, an expert on the issue, said the high dropout rate of Latino students in Texas is tied directly to inadequate programs.
"The decision reinforces the need and urgency for us to do something as a state," he said. "We need to develop new programs and new approaches in meeting the needs of these children. My hope is that the state will see this as an opportunity to improve the quality of the programs and not see it as a threat."
David Hinojosa of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, said TEA must come up with a plan that fixes the system.
"I don't know how on earth the state can say the ESL program is successful in any manner," he said, noting, "They're not being told to develop a whole new program. It just needs to be a program with some teeth in it."
Mr. Hinojosa said improvements "will require a commitment not only from the state, but also from school districts and principals. Many of our schools have been neglecting the needs of these students by holding low expectations for them and providing poor resources for their education."
tstutz@dallasnews.com;
kunmuth@dallasnews.com
July 26, 2008
Judge orders Texas to revamp bilingual education
07/26/2008
Associated Press
A federal judge has given the state of Texas until January to improve its education programs for secondary school students learning English as a second language.
The ruling issued Friday says the Texas Education Agency has failed the 140,000 Texas students who do not speak English as their native language.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, an organization that litigated the case, hailed the ruling from the Tyler-based Eastern District of Texas as the "most comprehensive legal decision concerning the civil rights of English language learners in the last 25 years."
MALDEF says primarily Spanish-speaking students in Texas have higher dropout rates, lower graduation rates and lower achievement rates than their English-speaking counterparts.
Associated Press
A federal judge has given the state of Texas until January to improve its education programs for secondary school students learning English as a second language.
The ruling issued Friday says the Texas Education Agency has failed the 140,000 Texas students who do not speak English as their native language.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, an organization that litigated the case, hailed the ruling from the Tyler-based Eastern District of Texas as the "most comprehensive legal decision concerning the civil rights of English language learners in the last 25 years."
MALDEF says primarily Spanish-speaking students in Texas have higher dropout rates, lower graduation rates and lower achievement rates than their English-speaking counterparts.
July 24, 2008
Chuck Hopson State representative talks immigration with Rusk American Legion
By Kelly Young
kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com
State Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, addressed a small group of veterans Tuesday night at the Rusk American Legion post. The four-term congressman answered questions and outlined a few goals for the next session of the legislature. Topics ranged from gun control and the Trans-Texas Corridor to water rights and education, but most of the night’s discussions centered around border security and Texas’ illegal immigration problem.
“In my district, which is Cherokee, Houston, Panola and Rusk counties, we have about 7 percent Hispanic voters and about 33 percent Hispanic kids in our schools. So that should tell you that we have quite a few people in the district who are probably not legal,” Hopson said. “The state of Texas is having to spend a lot of money each year educating these kids, treating illegals when they show up in emergency rooms and incarcerating them when they commit a felony.”
Hopson said he believes teachers being forced to cater to the children of illegal immigrants is putting a strain on the Texas education system.
“Our federal government has told us that when any kid presents himself to our schools, that we have to educate them. So we now are seeing a lot of students entering third or fourth grade who have never been to school at all and are not only illiterate in English, but are also illiterate in Spanish,” Hopson said. “It’s very challenging for our teachers to take in these new students and try to educate them and keep them on grade level.”
According to Hopson, his own feelings on immigration closely mirror those of former president Theodore Roosevelt — that immigrants are more than welcome to come to America if they do so legally and are willing to assimilate into American culture.
“I think we need to find out for sure who these people are. Apart from the millions of Mexicans entering America illegally, we’ve had an estimated 100,000 people from other countries cross the border since 2005,” he said. “This includes countries like Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan — places where Al Qaeda really has a presence. We can’t afford to have people entering the country that we don’t know anything about.”
Hopson said the federal government has failed in its charge to protect our borders.
“We passed a resolution during the last session and sent it to Congress, telling the federal government that if they cannot protect our borders and control who enters our country, then they need to pay the state for all the things that are costing us as taxpayers because the federal government is not stepping up and doing their job,” Hopson said.
The key to ending America’s influx of illegal immigrants is as simple as removing their incentive to come here, Hopson said Thursday night. He reasons that if they don’t have jobs waiting for them across the border, they won’t make the trip.
According to Hopson, during the last few years the state has conducted a number of operations along the border that have been successful in stopping drugs, weapons and illegal money from entering and leaving the country.
Programs since 2005 include Operation Linebacker, Operation Rio Grande, Operation Wrangler and Operation Border Star. Hopson said the efforts have put a major dent in serious crime in the unincorporated areas along the border. Operation Wrangler was a one-week surge in 2007 that Hopson said reduced crime and human smuggling by about 45 percent.
“The current thing we are doing is Operation Border Star, which has more airplanes, more water craft and more boots on the ground patrolling the Texas-Mexico border than we have ever had. The objective of Border Star is to dominate the border,” he said. “We authorized $110 million last May to enhance border security, and with increased personnel on the border, we are making a difference.”
Between January and May of this year, Hopson reports $23 million in illegal cash has been seized by elements of Operation Border Star.
“Our current operation has been very, very successful. I’m not real happy that we had to spend $110 million in Texas money to do it, but apparently our federal government doesn’t care enough to protect us. I think we all need to write our federal representation and let them know that we think their border policy is not good for East Texas, and it’s not good for our country,” Hopson said.
Brian Walker, Hopson’s opponent in the November elections, will hold a similar meeting with the Rusk American Legion in September.
kyoung@jacksonvilleprogress.com
State Rep. Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, addressed a small group of veterans Tuesday night at the Rusk American Legion post. The four-term congressman answered questions and outlined a few goals for the next session of the legislature. Topics ranged from gun control and the Trans-Texas Corridor to water rights and education, but most of the night’s discussions centered around border security and Texas’ illegal immigration problem.
“In my district, which is Cherokee, Houston, Panola and Rusk counties, we have about 7 percent Hispanic voters and about 33 percent Hispanic kids in our schools. So that should tell you that we have quite a few people in the district who are probably not legal,” Hopson said. “The state of Texas is having to spend a lot of money each year educating these kids, treating illegals when they show up in emergency rooms and incarcerating them when they commit a felony.”
Hopson said he believes teachers being forced to cater to the children of illegal immigrants is putting a strain on the Texas education system.
“Our federal government has told us that when any kid presents himself to our schools, that we have to educate them. So we now are seeing a lot of students entering third or fourth grade who have never been to school at all and are not only illiterate in English, but are also illiterate in Spanish,” Hopson said. “It’s very challenging for our teachers to take in these new students and try to educate them and keep them on grade level.”
According to Hopson, his own feelings on immigration closely mirror those of former president Theodore Roosevelt — that immigrants are more than welcome to come to America if they do so legally and are willing to assimilate into American culture.
“I think we need to find out for sure who these people are. Apart from the millions of Mexicans entering America illegally, we’ve had an estimated 100,000 people from other countries cross the border since 2005,” he said. “This includes countries like Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan — places where Al Qaeda really has a presence. We can’t afford to have people entering the country that we don’t know anything about.”
Hopson said the federal government has failed in its charge to protect our borders.
“We passed a resolution during the last session and sent it to Congress, telling the federal government that if they cannot protect our borders and control who enters our country, then they need to pay the state for all the things that are costing us as taxpayers because the federal government is not stepping up and doing their job,” Hopson said.
The key to ending America’s influx of illegal immigrants is as simple as removing their incentive to come here, Hopson said Thursday night. He reasons that if they don’t have jobs waiting for them across the border, they won’t make the trip.
According to Hopson, during the last few years the state has conducted a number of operations along the border that have been successful in stopping drugs, weapons and illegal money from entering and leaving the country.
Programs since 2005 include Operation Linebacker, Operation Rio Grande, Operation Wrangler and Operation Border Star. Hopson said the efforts have put a major dent in serious crime in the unincorporated areas along the border. Operation Wrangler was a one-week surge in 2007 that Hopson said reduced crime and human smuggling by about 45 percent.
“The current thing we are doing is Operation Border Star, which has more airplanes, more water craft and more boots on the ground patrolling the Texas-Mexico border than we have ever had. The objective of Border Star is to dominate the border,” he said. “We authorized $110 million last May to enhance border security, and with increased personnel on the border, we are making a difference.”
Between January and May of this year, Hopson reports $23 million in illegal cash has been seized by elements of Operation Border Star.
“Our current operation has been very, very successful. I’m not real happy that we had to spend $110 million in Texas money to do it, but apparently our federal government doesn’t care enough to protect us. I think we all need to write our federal representation and let them know that we think their border policy is not good for East Texas, and it’s not good for our country,” Hopson said.
Brian Walker, Hopson’s opponent in the November elections, will hold a similar meeting with the Rusk American Legion in September.
June 15, 2008
Burmese refugees fill meatpacking jobs
June 14, 2008, 12:01AM
Burmese refugees fill meatpacking jobs
By BETSY BLANEY Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press
CACTUS, Texas — Foreign-born workers have been the mainstay at a meatpacking plant in this small Panhandle town for decades.
When the plant opened in 1974, Vietnamese and Laotians filled many of the jobs. Then came workers from Mexico and Guatemala, many of them in the U.S. illegally.
Most left or were arrested after a 2006 immigration raid that took nearly 300 workers from the Swift & Co. plant.
Now a new group of foreign-born workers are employed at the plant, where starting pay begins at $12 an hour.
Since January about 450 Burmese refugees have arrived from places like Houston, Florida, New York and Indianapolis, lured by lower living costs, safe neighborhoods and jobs. More are on the way.
"They found a legal way to get a low-end work force," Moore County Judge Rowdy Rhoades said of the plant, which employs about 3000 workers and now operates as JBS Swift & Co. "These people take pride in their jobs."
A similar-sized group of Somalis answered Swift's ads last year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeted six Swift plants across the U.S. in December 2006 hit Cactus' economy hard. Just a few months later a tornado leveled about half of the town's homes.
Officials at Greeley, Colo.-based JBS Swift said the company feels fortunate to provide the refugees good jobs.
"Our refugee employees are a vital part of our work force, helping us recover from the ICE raids when we were struggling to keep operations running," Jack Shandley, a company spokesman said in an e-mail. "The refugees are legally living and working in the United States."
The adjustment hasn't been easy, for either Moore County residents or the Burmese, whose war-torn Myanmar homeland was hit by a catastrophic cyclone killing thousands in May.
Many who fled settled near the Thai border before gaining refugee status, said Lori Bigham, a supervisor at Catholic Family Service in Amarillo, about 60 miles from Cactus and already home to a Burmese population.
The newest Burmese immigrants live in Cactus and Dumas, about 15 miles south of the plant.
Only a few speak English, and the language barrier has resulted in some confusion over how to obtain driver licenses or otherwise ease into their new lives.
At Moore County Hospital, translators provided by Bigham's agency have helped, as has a telephonic interpreter service, said chief executive officer Jeff Turner.
The staff also has received training in cultural issues; some of the Burmese are Muslim.
"We have found that those issues have not prevented us from giving care," he said.
The Dumas school district hired two Burmese who speak English to help the 107 Burmese students — one of them a 20-year-old woman — who have enrolled in local schools. Swift officials have told the district that more will enroll in the fall, district superintendent Larry Appel said.
The district also purchased software and will conduct an intensive summer program to help students learn English. Appel said many Burmese are learning Spanish as well.
"It's a great tribute to their desire to learn," he said. "They've not been a problem to us. A challenge, yes. A problem no."
There have been differences, though.
"For the most part they've not been accustomed to attending school for a full school day," he said. "It's more an adjustment. It's certainly not a behavioral issue."
There has been both joy and heartache since the Burmese arrived. In mid-May, a man, 41, and a woman, 23, were killed when the van in which they were riding with eight other Burmese rolled several times on U.S. 87 just south of Dumas.
Most were ejected and the language barrier impeded rescue efforts, Moore County Attorney Scott Higginbotham said.
"We can't get past, 'who are you and are you hurt,'" he said. "I'm grateful they're here because we're a nation of immigrants. The problem I have ... is we are ill-equipped to take care of these people."
The two communities are coming together to help. Elected officials from Dumas, Cactus and Moore County, and others from churches and social services agencies meet regularly.
Stan Corbin, international mission pastor at First Baptist Church in Dumas, said he's proud of his town and his county for stepping up to help the group.
"They're anxious to be independent but they're not there yet," he said. "Right now they're dependent on citizens to help them."
Bigham, the Catholic Family Service supervisor, said the number of Burmese moving here from other U.S. cities is greater than many expected.
"It usually doesn't happen with such large number in a short amount of time," she said.
But complaints are few in Cactus. The Burmese walk many places and because men wear dress-like garb, heads turn, Cactus City Manager Steve Schmidt-Witcher said.
"It's rather unusual to see a man walking with a skirt," he said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5837392.html
Burmese refugees fill meatpacking jobs
By BETSY BLANEY Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press
CACTUS, Texas — Foreign-born workers have been the mainstay at a meatpacking plant in this small Panhandle town for decades.
When the plant opened in 1974, Vietnamese and Laotians filled many of the jobs. Then came workers from Mexico and Guatemala, many of them in the U.S. illegally.
Most left or were arrested after a 2006 immigration raid that took nearly 300 workers from the Swift & Co. plant.
Now a new group of foreign-born workers are employed at the plant, where starting pay begins at $12 an hour.
Since January about 450 Burmese refugees have arrived from places like Houston, Florida, New York and Indianapolis, lured by lower living costs, safe neighborhoods and jobs. More are on the way.
"They found a legal way to get a low-end work force," Moore County Judge Rowdy Rhoades said of the plant, which employs about 3000 workers and now operates as JBS Swift & Co. "These people take pride in their jobs."
A similar-sized group of Somalis answered Swift's ads last year.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids targeted six Swift plants across the U.S. in December 2006 hit Cactus' economy hard. Just a few months later a tornado leveled about half of the town's homes.
Officials at Greeley, Colo.-based JBS Swift said the company feels fortunate to provide the refugees good jobs.
"Our refugee employees are a vital part of our work force, helping us recover from the ICE raids when we were struggling to keep operations running," Jack Shandley, a company spokesman said in an e-mail. "The refugees are legally living and working in the United States."
The adjustment hasn't been easy, for either Moore County residents or the Burmese, whose war-torn Myanmar homeland was hit by a catastrophic cyclone killing thousands in May.
Many who fled settled near the Thai border before gaining refugee status, said Lori Bigham, a supervisor at Catholic Family Service in Amarillo, about 60 miles from Cactus and already home to a Burmese population.
The newest Burmese immigrants live in Cactus and Dumas, about 15 miles south of the plant.
Only a few speak English, and the language barrier has resulted in some confusion over how to obtain driver licenses or otherwise ease into their new lives.
At Moore County Hospital, translators provided by Bigham's agency have helped, as has a telephonic interpreter service, said chief executive officer Jeff Turner.
The staff also has received training in cultural issues; some of the Burmese are Muslim.
"We have found that those issues have not prevented us from giving care," he said.
The Dumas school district hired two Burmese who speak English to help the 107 Burmese students — one of them a 20-year-old woman — who have enrolled in local schools. Swift officials have told the district that more will enroll in the fall, district superintendent Larry Appel said.
The district also purchased software and will conduct an intensive summer program to help students learn English. Appel said many Burmese are learning Spanish as well.
"It's a great tribute to their desire to learn," he said. "They've not been a problem to us. A challenge, yes. A problem no."
There have been differences, though.
"For the most part they've not been accustomed to attending school for a full school day," he said. "It's more an adjustment. It's certainly not a behavioral issue."
There has been both joy and heartache since the Burmese arrived. In mid-May, a man, 41, and a woman, 23, were killed when the van in which they were riding with eight other Burmese rolled several times on U.S. 87 just south of Dumas.
Most were ejected and the language barrier impeded rescue efforts, Moore County Attorney Scott Higginbotham said.
"We can't get past, 'who are you and are you hurt,'" he said. "I'm grateful they're here because we're a nation of immigrants. The problem I have ... is we are ill-equipped to take care of these people."
The two communities are coming together to help. Elected officials from Dumas, Cactus and Moore County, and others from churches and social services agencies meet regularly.
Stan Corbin, international mission pastor at First Baptist Church in Dumas, said he's proud of his town and his county for stepping up to help the group.
"They're anxious to be independent but they're not there yet," he said. "Right now they're dependent on citizens to help them."
Bigham, the Catholic Family Service supervisor, said the number of Burmese moving here from other U.S. cities is greater than many expected.
"It usually doesn't happen with such large number in a short amount of time," she said.
But complaints are few in Cactus. The Burmese walk many places and because men wear dress-like garb, heads turn, Cactus City Manager Steve Schmidt-Witcher said.
"It's rather unusual to see a man walking with a skirt," he said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5837392.html
June 9, 2008
Varying data leave incomplete picture of immigrants' progress
Varying data leave incomplete picture of immigrants' progress
12:00 AM CDT on Monday, June 9, 2008
By HOLLY K. HACKER / The Dallas Morning News
hhacker@dallasnews.com
Researchers have a good idea how many school-age children were born outside the U.S.
As for how these young immigrants fare in classrooms – how quickly they learn English; how often they repeat a grade; how many graduate on time – details are murky. That's because, across the country, school districts vary widely in the information they collect, making it very hard to draw useful comparisons or study the progress of students.
"The data collected by schools is simply not particularly nuanced, especially for immigrants," said Richard Fry, a researcher at the Pew Hispanic Center, a national nonprofit. "You don't know where they were born. You don't know how long they've been here. You don't know anything about their parents."
The U.S. Census gives an overview of the immigrant population by counting foreign-born residents, no matter how long they've been in the U.S. Its most recent survey, from 2006, found that 7 percent of Texas school-age children – some 325,000 kids – are foreign-born. The rate is around 9 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth. Most come from Mexico.
But if you want details, good luck. School districts aren't required to ask students what country they were born in or when they moved to the U.S.
Dallas ISD, for one, voluntarily collects that information through an intake center for new immigrants and refugees. The center also asks families how much schooling their children have had to help place them academically.
Dallas also tracks the total number of students born outside the U.S., but all districts don't keep such detailed records.
There are other problems. For example, not everyone defines "immigrant" the same way.
The Texas Education Agency uses the federal Education Department's definition: a foreign-born student who has attended U.S. schools less than three years. Once that student hits year four, the immigrant label disappears.
So what? Well, it matters if you care how many foreign-born students graduate or drop out from Texas public schools.
The state reports that of 3,165 immigrants in the Class of 2006, just half graduated in four years, and nearly a third dropped out.
But those statistics don't tell the whole story.
Take two Mexican-born students who enroll in Texas schools in ninth grade. The first graduates four years later – but doesn't count as an immigrant because she has exceeded the three-year mark. The second student drops out after ninth grade – and because he was still considered an immigrant, he shows up as an immigrant dropout.
Another problem is that some immigrants, especially teenagers, never enroll in a U.S. school. The census counts them as dropouts. Schools don't, because they never "dropped in" to begin with.
The rate of immigration has slowed in the Dallas area in recent years, because, experts speculate, of greater border enforcement and a decline in construction jobs. Schools also have seen that slowing. Dallas, for example, added 2,240 immigrants this school year, down from 4,730 new immigrants in 2001-02.
Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa agrees that tighter border controls have probably had an effect, along with crackdowns on illegal immigrants in Farmers Branch, Irving and other places. But he questions whether the drop is really as steep as the data show. School records – such as Census Bureau surveys – rely on self-reporting, and he suspects some families aren't identifying themselves as immigrants, regardless of their legal status. He predicts that will continue.
"I think people are going to be more scared of being deported," he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-eslimmigcount_09met.ART.State.Edition1.46690ba.html
12:00 AM CDT on Monday, June 9, 2008
By HOLLY K. HACKER / The Dallas Morning News
hhacker@dallasnews.com
Researchers have a good idea how many school-age children were born outside the U.S.
As for how these young immigrants fare in classrooms – how quickly they learn English; how often they repeat a grade; how many graduate on time – details are murky. That's because, across the country, school districts vary widely in the information they collect, making it very hard to draw useful comparisons or study the progress of students.
"The data collected by schools is simply not particularly nuanced, especially for immigrants," said Richard Fry, a researcher at the Pew Hispanic Center, a national nonprofit. "You don't know where they were born. You don't know how long they've been here. You don't know anything about their parents."
The U.S. Census gives an overview of the immigrant population by counting foreign-born residents, no matter how long they've been in the U.S. Its most recent survey, from 2006, found that 7 percent of Texas school-age children – some 325,000 kids – are foreign-born. The rate is around 9 percent in Dallas-Fort Worth. Most come from Mexico.
But if you want details, good luck. School districts aren't required to ask students what country they were born in or when they moved to the U.S.
Dallas ISD, for one, voluntarily collects that information through an intake center for new immigrants and refugees. The center also asks families how much schooling their children have had to help place them academically.
Dallas also tracks the total number of students born outside the U.S., but all districts don't keep such detailed records.
There are other problems. For example, not everyone defines "immigrant" the same way.
The Texas Education Agency uses the federal Education Department's definition: a foreign-born student who has attended U.S. schools less than three years. Once that student hits year four, the immigrant label disappears.
So what? Well, it matters if you care how many foreign-born students graduate or drop out from Texas public schools.
The state reports that of 3,165 immigrants in the Class of 2006, just half graduated in four years, and nearly a third dropped out.
But those statistics don't tell the whole story.
Take two Mexican-born students who enroll in Texas schools in ninth grade. The first graduates four years later – but doesn't count as an immigrant because she has exceeded the three-year mark. The second student drops out after ninth grade – and because he was still considered an immigrant, he shows up as an immigrant dropout.
Another problem is that some immigrants, especially teenagers, never enroll in a U.S. school. The census counts them as dropouts. Schools don't, because they never "dropped in" to begin with.
The rate of immigration has slowed in the Dallas area in recent years, because, experts speculate, of greater border enforcement and a decline in construction jobs. Schools also have seen that slowing. Dallas, for example, added 2,240 immigrants this school year, down from 4,730 new immigrants in 2001-02.
Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa agrees that tighter border controls have probably had an effect, along with crackdowns on illegal immigrants in Farmers Branch, Irving and other places. But he questions whether the drop is really as steep as the data show. School records – such as Census Bureau surveys – rely on self-reporting, and he suspects some families aren't identifying themselves as immigrants, regardless of their legal status. He predicts that will continue.
"I think people are going to be more scared of being deported," he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-eslimmigcount_09met.ART.State.Edition1.46690ba.html
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