Texas district faces scrutiny after board member proposes tallying migrant children in schools

A school district in Texas is under public scrutiny at the moment after a board trustee asked whether authorities had any way of keeping track of students' immigration status.

"Do we have any way of measuring or coming to an understanding of how many illegal immigrant children we have that we are educating? Are we even allowed to ask that question? Do we have any way of tracking that just to see what that looks like?" said Morgan Calhoun, according to a transcript of the meeting.

Katy ISD Superintendent Ken Gregorski reminded members that "it would be unlawful to ask immigration status," adding that the district does not engage in that practice. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1982 that all children in the country are entitled to public education regardless of their immigration status, preventing local authorities from making such inquiries.

Calhoun, however, suggested the district move forward with legislation to allow this, saying taxpayers shouldn't be financing children who are in the country illegally.

"If we can't know who's illegal or legal then we also can't be given money to offset that cost, correct? If we don't know, we don't know where we're losing money or gaining money in any way shape or form," she said.

Local outlet Khou 11 gathered testimonies from residents, who rejected the proposition calling it reckless.

Texas has been at the forefront of the public debate when it comes to measures related to unlawful immigration, particularly through SB4, a law that allows local law enforcement to arrest and deport migrants who are in the state illegally.

The law is currently on hold while a U.S. Court of Appeals hears arguments regarding its constitutionality, as the Department of Justice and other organizations have sued to prevent it from going into effect. However, many other Republican-led states have followed its steps and passed similar laws of their own, with Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana and Oklahoma among the examples.

The Greg Abbott administration has also beefed up its border with physical barriers and increased law enforcement, leading smugglers to paths of less resistance such as Arizona and California.

A sheriff in Cochise County, Arizona, told Border Report that these illegal organizations adjust their routes as soon as U.S. law enforcement pours resources into an area. And while California has seen the largest amount of apprehensions in the past month, Arizona still leads the country in this area this fiscal year.

Concretely, the San Diego sector recorded over 37,000 encounters in April, but its tally amounts to about 222,000 in fiscal year 2024 (which started in October), 150,000 fewer than Tucson, Arizona. Texas' Del Rio came in third with just under 205,000, while El Paso was fourth with 180,738, according to figures provided by NewsNation.