A new Trump order can expel thousands of elderly students

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While President Donald Trump enhances the application of immigration laws, attacking immigrants in California work and corners, his administration focuses his attention on elderly students.

In a note Issued this month, the US Department of Education declares that elderly students should be banned without legal status to vocational technical education courses, English programs and courses for equivalence of high school funded with federal funds.

Adult schools offer these courses to each person over 18, including immigrants, and many school principals claim that the new order can lead to a reduction in registration. California schools, from pre -school to high school, may also need to be adapted as they use federal funds to offer many hours of professional technical education that teach skills such as welding and agriculture.

The new order raises the administrative challenges for those schools that do not require students to prove their immigration status. Many students, including US citizens, do not have adequate verification documents.

“This will perpetuate this atmosphere of fear,” says Randy Tilly, director of the economic mobility of the Non -Profit Organization Weted, which helps to collect data from the state name.

Last week California General Prosecutor Rob Bont said the state was Requireing the Trump administration for the new order.

The US Department of Education. He declined to comment on the new rule. In a Press release The department said it would apply it from August 9th.

Adult schools ask students to voluntarily share their social security numbers, which are only available to those who have the legal right to work in the United States. Of the more than 500,000 elderly students who take lessons in California, approximately 10% voluntarily share their numbers with their schools, Tilly said.

Schools throughout the country say they are waiting for more directions than state and federal agencies before banning students from attending any kind.

“What happens if you don’t come back?”

V., a student at the Huntington Beach School in Huntington, holds English hours from Monday to Thursday, for two and a half hours each day. V. agreed to be interviewed with the condition that Calmatters did not identify it, as there is no legal immigration status and fears to be deported.

His three children, American citizens, did not support the idea that their mother went to school this summer before the threat upcoming migratory raids S “When I grabbed my backpack to go to school, my kids told me,” Don’t leave, Mom. And if you don’t come back? “

Last month, she sent a note to her teacher, telling her that because of uncontrollable anxiety, she should take the class online. “I had, I have, and I’m still afraid to leave (from home),” he said later.

Usually its class has about 40 students, but this summer, according to your teacher, has been reduced to 24. The class is being broadcast live and more and more students are choosing to take an online course, according to the teacher. Calmatters will not reveal the teacher’s name to ensure the anonymity of V.

V. comments that it is more difficult to concentrate while running online; His children often interrupted live broadcast or something on the computer distracted him. After about two weeks online, V. He returned to the lessons personally, despite the fear of his children.

Steve Couriel, director of the school, said it allows the students without a law to attend class, at least for now, until the Ministry of Education has provided more guidance on the new law.

For a month, elderly schools have been insecure about federal policies and funding. The federal funding for these schools usually arrives annually, starting the fiscal year on July 1 and represents up to 30 % of the school budget.

The Ministry of Education He saved money For a month, leading to California General Prosecutor Rob Bont, to search Of the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. On Friday, the department announced that it would begin To make money this week But the lawsuit is still ongoing, according to Elisa Perez, a spokesman for the broth’s office.

“We feel optimistic, but we still have some uncertainty because we want to see the effective release of funds,” Couriel said. I would start applying contracts on Friday at Huntington School, but I said it would wait now.

“This will perpetuate this atmosphere of fear.”

Randy Tiliri, Director of Western Economic Development

Many countries depend entirely on the federal government for financing English language training programs and equivalence of the High School for Adults, while California has a financial mattress: the state provides more than $ 650 million each year specifically for adult education, which represents the bigger part of the funding for adult schools in California.

Move teenagers from hours

The new policy of the Ministry of Education for adults without legal status can also affect high school students. Although many of the funds in question support adults who take English language and high school equivalence courses, vocational technical education is part of a separate fund known as Perkins Funds, which covers hundreds of high schools throughout the country. The Ministry of Education Memorandum shows that the financing of these programs should be limited to students with legal residence or citizenship.

It is believed that this 150,000 children Between 3 and 17, they live in California without legal status, according to the Institute of Migration Policy. The bigger part attends school.

Plyer vs. DOE of the United States Supreme Court requires the main and secondary schools to provide all students, regardless of their legal status, primary public education. In the memorandum, however, the Ministry of Education of the United States said that vocational training classes are no longer considered part of primary education. The memorandum also shows that children without legal status are already forbidden to study university research in the high school.

In order to implement the new policy of the Ministry of Education, public schools from pre -school to high school will need to inform certain students who cannot register in certain classes because of their legal status. This would create a huge problem for schools, Tillers said as they do not ask the students about their legal status. Public schools will have to collect data on who are legal residents, and who is not, he added, which can deter some students to attend school.

The US Department of Education did not answer Calmatters’ questions about how schools should answer or how regulations will apply. The United School District in Los Angeles said that “waiting more guidance” of the Ministry of State Education, which also declined to comment.

For V. English classes are more important to their family than anything else, he repeatedly repeated. His daughter is about to turn 11 and prefers to speak English than Spanish, although she has an obstacle that costs her to communicate in both languages. V. He said he wanted to be able to speak more English with his daughter, hoping to help him, despite the risks of walking in class.

“We do not live our own lives,” said V. “We live for our children.”