The cost of education for some: Educating illegals in the U.S.

Abstract

United States immigration policy is one of the most dynamic and fiercely argued public policy issues today – often including questions of how many and from where. Poor economic conditions overseas, perceptions of a relative abundance of opportunity in the United States, flight from persecution and upheaval, and revolutions in communication and transportation are often cited as the major factors explaining historic and current waves of immigrants (legal and illegal) to U.S. shores (Batchelor, 2004; Borjas, 2004; Porter, 2006). U.S. immigration legislation is also a key factor in determining the numbers and composition of America's new residents. The focus of this chapter therefore consists of the costs associated with providing illegal immigrants with the benefit of free, public schooling within the context of globalization. More specifically, given the broader social, political, and economic parameters of the immigration debate and its meaning, the chapter discusses the legal and educational issues faced in the United States by those undocumented students who desire to attend public schooling, as well as the ways current state and federal laws both empower and discourage them.

Citation

Urias, D. (2008), "The cost of education for some: Educating illegals in the U.S.", Hopson, R.K., Camp Yeakey, C. and Musa Boakari, F. (Ed.) Power, Voice and the Public Good: Schooling and Education in Global Societies (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities, Vol. 6), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 55-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-358X(08)06003-8