The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed January 24th as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.

Education offers children a ladder out of poverty and a path to a promising future.

Without inclusive, equitable education and lifelong opportunities for everyone, achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty will remain impossible, leaving millions of children, youth, and adults behind.

Children in the U.S. cannot be denied education based on their immigration status. 87% of children of immigrants are U.S. Citizens.  As you may know, President Trump recently signed an executive order in an attempt to end birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is the principle that every baby born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. The Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantees the citizenship of all children born in the United States (with the extremely narrow exception of children of foreign diplomats) regardless of race, color, or ancestry. Specifically, it states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, overturning the Dred Scott decision that denied Black Americans the rights and protections of U.S. citizenship. In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that children born in the United States to immigrant parents were entitled to U.S. citizenship, and the principle has remained an undisturbed constitutional bedrock for over a century.

Such actions would cause newborns to be classified as undocumented, even if their parents are here legally and awaiting review of asylum applications. That newborn would therefore be denied basic healthcare and nutrition putting many infants at risk.  These children would be unable to obtain identification, or be a full member of society, even though they were born in the U.S. and never lived in any other country.

This executive order has been temporarily blocked in court. 

Meanwhile the president also rescinded polices that prevented ICE from arresting undocumented immigrants in “sensitive” locations, such as school or church.  This will likely cause immigrant families (including their U.S. citizen children) to avoid medical care, school, or other activities. ICE going to schools to seek to arrest parents will cause children to witness their parents arrest (as well as other students in the school witnessing their classmates parents being detained and arrested).

Public schools should be safe spaces under the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, which guarantees educational access for students regardless of immigration status.

The Heritage Foundation (authors of Project 2025) have urged states to require public schools to charge unaccompanied migrant children and children with undocumented parents tuition to enroll as a way to draw a lawsuit that would bring Plyler back before the Supreme Court.

The claim that immigrants are a drain on the education system or economy in general is false.

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study found that, from 2005 to 2019, refugees and asylum seekers contributed nearly $124 billion more to public revenues than they used in public services.  A new forecast from the Congressional Budget Office shows that recent boosts in immigration are likely to raise U.S. GDP by $7 trillion — and public revenues by $1 trillion over the next decade.

Creating policies based on these false claims could lead to many troubling consequences for US citizens as well.  The moment we begin creating barriers to public education according to tax contributions or parental wealth, we’ll soon have to face some uncomfortable questions.  Do we exclude U.S.-born children from classrooms if their caregivers are renters who don’t directly pay property taxes? Remember, undocumented immigrants do not receive housing assistance, and therefore pay property taxes (likely through rent) wherever they live. Can children be blocked from attending school if their caregiver gets busted for tax evasion? 

This isn’t about consequences for adults. Policies requiring adults to meet certain conditions, like having a job or passing drug tests, before accessing public aid are a separate issue. While these conditions might be debated for adults, the focus should be on children, who are entirely innocent of the circumstances surrounding their families’ legal status or financial situation. Children should not be held accountable for things they have no control over.

To deny them access to basic needs like food, shelter, education, and healthcare based on their families’ situations is not just unfair—it is inhumane.

Children shouldn’t have to “earn” the most basic aspects of a dignified life. These are universal rights, not privileges that can be conditioned upon their parents’ actions or legal status. Their worth and humanity are inherent, and they deserve the same opportunities and protections as any child, regardless of their family’s circumstances.

This was evident when Plyler was decided — 40 years ago. Writing for the majority, Justice William J. Brennan said this, “banning these children from school would “[impose] a lifetime hardship on a discrete class of children not accountable for their disabling status. These children can neither affect their parents’ conduct nor their own undocumented status.” 

While we admit that immigration is a complicated and multifaceted issue in this county, we hope that everyone can agree that children should not suffer based on any of these issues.

Here at OurSchoolsRoxbury we are dedicated to protecting public education for ALL.