House Judiciary subcommittee to examine if free public education incentivizes illegal immigration

A House Judiciary subcommittee will examine whether a 1982 Supreme Court decision forcing states to provide taxpayer-funded K-12 education to illegal immigrant children incentivized illegal immigration.

House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government Chairman Chip Roy told The Daily Signal on Friday that the panel will hold a hearing on Wednesday on the Supreme Court's Plyler v. Doe decision. In the 1982 ruling, the Supreme Court allowed illegal immigrant children to enroll in public schools, ruling that state laws preventing their enrollment violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.

“Decades ago, the Supreme Court’s erroneous decision in Plyler v. Doe set a misguided precedent by extending taxpayer-funded public education to those in the country illegally,” Roy said. “As our schools face growing strain, it’s time for Congress and the courts to reexamine this decision and put American students and taxpayers first.”

The subcommittee hearing will explore the “policy implications” of “allowing large numbers of illegal aliens to overwhelm public schools, strain resources, teachers, and hinder class learning,” he added.

The witnesses have not been announced yet, but they will help the subcommittee identify how Congress could urge the Supreme Court to “rectify this judicial and policy gap,” the chairman said.

“This serves as an opportunity to examine the federal judiciary’s recent series of questionable decisions, highlighting a history of bad precedent,” Roy added.

The subcommittee also seeks to use the hearing as an opportunity “to build from the birthright citizenship hearing” by showing that the Plyler decision compounds the issue of illegal immigrants absorbing public resources.