GotZoom
Senior Member
HELLO!!! THEY ARE ILLEGALLY IN THIS COUNTRY!!!!!!
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Dallas' school district has a shortage of bilingual teachers.
DISD trustee Joe May knows where he can find a lot of people who speak Spanish fluently and are already in the country. And he'd like to put them to work.
But there's at least one big hurdle: The school district cannot knowingly hire illegal immigrants because it's against federal law.
Mr. May wants to amend that so the district can hire illegal immigrants who are college-educated and can qualify for the district's emergency teaching certification program. The issue will be discussed at the school board's policy briefing today.
Mr. May believes that amending the law would help alleviate a shortage of bilingual teachers. DISD hopes to fill more than 400 bilingual teaching positions next school year.
"We're paying for DISD people to go over" to other countries to recruit bilingual teachers, Mr. May said. "It makes sense if we set up shop over here. We can build an employment base in our own market."
Some Dallas Independent School District trustees said they look forward to discussing the issue while others are treading cautiously. The district's attorneys will also participate in the discussion at today's meeting.
"I'm open to listening to the legal points they might make," trustee Hollis Brashear said. "But I don't know if we can discuss something that involves not complying with U.S. law."
Trustee Jerome Garza said it's an interesting topic that should be discussed.
"We as trustees can no longer solve problems like we did 10 years ago," Mr. Garza said. "We have to be innovative."
For Mr. May, no idea is too far-fetched. Last year, he successfully pushed a proposal, initially greeted with considerable skepticism, that requires some principals to become bilingual. The issue divided blacks and Hispanics and received nationwide attention.
DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said Mr. May's kind of grass-roots effort is how laws are changed. He said the hiring proposal is something he could support as long as it's done legally.
Dr. Hinojosa said he empathizes with young children who enter the U.S. illegally with their parents and find their job prospects limited in adulthood.
"It wasn't their fault they were brought here," Dr. Hinojosa said. "Their parents brought them."
But the proposal may become, even briefly, a lightning rod for the national debate over illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants number in the millions. A temporary worker plan proposed by President Bush recently has come under fire. The plan would grant visas to many undocumented immigrants, in hopes that it would stem the tide of people entering the U.S. illegally to work. It would also allow law enforcement to focus more on homeland defense.
Also Online
Federal officials responded Monday to questions about Mr. May's proposal by reciting the current law.
"It's illegal to knowingly hire or continue to employ illegal aliens," said Carl Rusnok, regional communications director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Unless you're in this country legally, it's illegal for you to work."
Under federal law, employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers face criminal prosecution and substantial fines.
Some districts, including DISD, go abroad to recruit bilingual teachers and help applicants obtain their work visas.
But getting a work visa isn't an option for illegal immigrants already here, said Maria Elena Garcia-Upson, regional communications manager for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"While we empathize and sympathize with these individuals, there is an orderly fashion in which one can immigrate to this country," Ms. Garcia-Upson said.
John Keeley, director of communications for the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit group that seeks to have fewer immigrants in the U.S., said Mr. May's proposal sends the wrong message to students.
"Within the education community, you expect a higher degree for the rule of the law," he said.
But Joe Campos, executive manager of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said DISD should push to get the residency requirement waived.
"They can be good productive citizens," Mr. Campos said. "Why not give them the opportunity?"
Mr. May believes it's time to change laws to address illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. for years.
"They're basically American people when you get down to it," he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/020706dnmetillegalhire.e370b4.html
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Dallas' school district has a shortage of bilingual teachers.
DISD trustee Joe May knows where he can find a lot of people who speak Spanish fluently and are already in the country. And he'd like to put them to work.
But there's at least one big hurdle: The school district cannot knowingly hire illegal immigrants because it's against federal law.
Mr. May wants to amend that so the district can hire illegal immigrants who are college-educated and can qualify for the district's emergency teaching certification program. The issue will be discussed at the school board's policy briefing today.
Mr. May believes that amending the law would help alleviate a shortage of bilingual teachers. DISD hopes to fill more than 400 bilingual teaching positions next school year.
"We're paying for DISD people to go over" to other countries to recruit bilingual teachers, Mr. May said. "It makes sense if we set up shop over here. We can build an employment base in our own market."
Some Dallas Independent School District trustees said they look forward to discussing the issue while others are treading cautiously. The district's attorneys will also participate in the discussion at today's meeting.
"I'm open to listening to the legal points they might make," trustee Hollis Brashear said. "But I don't know if we can discuss something that involves not complying with U.S. law."
Trustee Jerome Garza said it's an interesting topic that should be discussed.
"We as trustees can no longer solve problems like we did 10 years ago," Mr. Garza said. "We have to be innovative."
For Mr. May, no idea is too far-fetched. Last year, he successfully pushed a proposal, initially greeted with considerable skepticism, that requires some principals to become bilingual. The issue divided blacks and Hispanics and received nationwide attention.
DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa said Mr. May's kind of grass-roots effort is how laws are changed. He said the hiring proposal is something he could support as long as it's done legally.
Dr. Hinojosa said he empathizes with young children who enter the U.S. illegally with their parents and find their job prospects limited in adulthood.
"It wasn't their fault they were brought here," Dr. Hinojosa said. "Their parents brought them."
But the proposal may become, even briefly, a lightning rod for the national debate over illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants number in the millions. A temporary worker plan proposed by President Bush recently has come under fire. The plan would grant visas to many undocumented immigrants, in hopes that it would stem the tide of people entering the U.S. illegally to work. It would also allow law enforcement to focus more on homeland defense.
Also Online
Federal officials responded Monday to questions about Mr. May's proposal by reciting the current law.
"It's illegal to knowingly hire or continue to employ illegal aliens," said Carl Rusnok, regional communications director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Unless you're in this country legally, it's illegal for you to work."
Under federal law, employers who knowingly hire unauthorized workers face criminal prosecution and substantial fines.
Some districts, including DISD, go abroad to recruit bilingual teachers and help applicants obtain their work visas.
But getting a work visa isn't an option for illegal immigrants already here, said Maria Elena Garcia-Upson, regional communications manager for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
"While we empathize and sympathize with these individuals, there is an orderly fashion in which one can immigrate to this country," Ms. Garcia-Upson said.
John Keeley, director of communications for the Center for Immigration Studies, a nonprofit group that seeks to have fewer immigrants in the U.S., said Mr. May's proposal sends the wrong message to students.
"Within the education community, you expect a higher degree for the rule of the law," he said.
But Joe Campos, executive manager of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said DISD should push to get the residency requirement waived.
"They can be good productive citizens," Mr. Campos said. "Why not give them the opportunity?"
Mr. May believes it's time to change laws to address illegal immigrants who have been in the U.S. for years.
"They're basically American people when you get down to it," he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/020706dnmetillegalhire.e370b4.html
