Calif. School Targets Mexican Students

[Logan13]

Calif. School Targets Mexican StudentsCALEXICO, Calif. (AP) - Children are more likely to shield their faces than to smile when Daniel Santillan points his camera.
Santillan's photos aren't for any picture album or yearbook—they help prove that Mexican youngsters are illegally attending public schools in this California border community.

With too many students and too few classrooms, Calexico school officials took the unusual step of hiring someone to photograph children and document the offenders. Santillan snaps pictures at the city's downtown border crossing and shares the images with school principals, who use them as evidence to kick out those living in Mexico.

Since he started the job two years ago, the number of students in the Calexico school system has fallen 5 percent, from 9,600 to 9,100, while the city's population grew about 3 percent.

"The community asked us to do this, and we responded," school board President Enrique Alvarado said. "Once it starts to affect you personally, when your daughter gets bumped to another school, then our residents start complaining."

Every day along the 1,952-mile border, children from Mexico cross into the United States and attend public schools. No one keeps statistics on how many.

Citizenship isn't the issue for school officials; district residency is.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled illegal immigrants have a right to an education, so schools don't ask about immigration status. But citizens and illegal immigrants alike can't falsely claim residency in a school district.

Enforcement of residency requirements varies widely along the border. Some schools do little to verify where children live beyond checking leases or utility bills, while others dispatch officials to homes when suspicions are raised.

Jesus Gandara, superintendent of the Sweetwater district, with 44,000 students along San Diego's border with Mexico, said tracking children at the border goes too far. "If you do that, you're playing immigration agent," he said.

The El Paso Independent School District in Texas sends employees to homes when suspicions are raised. But spokesman Luis Villalobos said photographing students at the border would be a monumental, unproductive effort.

That's not the thinking in Calexico, a city 120 miles east of San Diego that has seen its population double to 38,000 since 1990. A steel fence along the border separates Calexico from Mexicali, an industrial city of about 750,000 that sends shoppers and farm laborers to California.

Calexico's rapid growth outstripped school resources, resulting in overcrowding and prompting demands that Mexican interlopers be ousted. Taxpayers complained their children were bused across town because neighborhood schools were full, even after Calexico voters approved a $30 million construction measure in 2004. Portable classrooms proliferated.

The 62-year-old Santillan (pronounced sahn-tee-YAHN) was hired in He is an unlikely enforcer. Posters of Cesar Chavez and Che Guevara adorn the walls of his ranch-style home. The Vietnam War veteran and labor activist is an outspoken advocate of amnesty for illegal immigrants and fills water jugs in the desert for Mexicans who trek across the border illegally.

He parks his old Toyota Echo at the border two or three mornings a week, often in a handicapped spot that his bad knees allow him to occupy. He photographs some of the hundreds of students who exit the inspection building and walk to class.

Some hide their faces when they see his 6-foot-5, 310-pound frame. Sometimes he follows students to school.

Many of the students know him. Others in town are not always sure what he is up to. A new police officer once ran his name through a database of sex offenders. A talk-radio host warned listeners that an odd- looking man at the border might be looking for children to kidnap.

Some students taunt him. Friends have called him a hypocrite. Santillan reminds them that he is only enforcing school residency rules, not immigration laws. Still, he says, "You've got to have hell of a tough skin."

The California native also visits addresses listed on student enrollment forms, knocking on doors as late as 9 p.m. and introducing himself in Spanish.

One crisp December morning, he went to three homes before dawn, carrying a clipboard with several pages of students suspected of living in Mexico. A woman who opened her door at 6:30 a.m. said her niece no longer lives with her. At another home, a woman said her niece moved last month.

Many Calexico residents support the crackdown.

Fernando Torres, a former mayor, was upset when the district said his grandchildren would have to transfer because there was no room in their neighborhood school. "It's not right" for U.S. taxpayers to build classrooms for Mexican residents, he said. The district eventually relented.

School board member Eduardo Rivera estimates there are still 250 to 400 students from Mexico attending Calexico's schools.

"It's a continual struggle," Rivera said. "You have people who are determined to continue sending their kids over here."

[Fat Guy]

I can see this thread going south quickly (no pun intended)… but I did enjoy the read being a native Southern Californian. Calexico (depending on the district) usually spends almost $7k per student each and every year. So if you do the math on $7k multiplied by 250 to 400 students who live in Mexico, that is a huge annual spending ($1.75 million to $2.8 million) on nonresidents paid by taxpayers. That is a scary number just for 1 small town out of CA, just think all the other towns around the nation that are doing the same.

Here is my source for student spending;
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/...ct_profile/162


I will play devil’s advocate on this one and ask the question though…

Is it right or humane to deny any child an education just because of some arbitrary line or nationality?

[Renesis]

If you are illegally attending schools then yes you should be denied.

[Logan13]

I can see this thread going south quickly (no pun intended)… but I did enjoy the read being a native Southern Californian. Calexico (depending on the district) usually spends almost $7k per student each and every year. So if you do the math on $7k multiplied by 250 to 400 students who live in Mexico, that is a huge annual spending ($1.75 million to $2.8 million) on nonresidents paid by taxpayers. That is a scary number just for 1 small town out of CA, just think all the other towns around the nation that are doing the same.

Here is my source for student spending;
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/...ct_profile/162


I will play devil’s advocate on this one and ask the question though…

Is it right or humane to deny any child an education just because of some arbitrary line or nationality?

there are schools in Mexico. Are the schools in the US better...perhaps. But that does not change the fact that these kids have educational opportunities in their home country.

[Longball]

Is it right or humane to deny any child an education just because of some arbitrary line or nationality?

Deny totally? maybe not, but they should be funded by the Mexican Gov't at the same rate as local residents are taxed to pay for the school system.

[thegodfather]

I will play devil’s advocate on this one and ask the question though…

Is it right or humane to deny any child an education just because of some arbitrary line or nationality?

Thats not devil's advocate. That is some Liberal bleeding heart horseshit!

Mexican residents should not have their education subsidized by American tax payers. Just like they should not have their healthcare subsidized by American tax payers.

Hey, maybe the schools are better in Europe, maybe I'll fly there everyday and goto school there at the expense of European tax payers, and then fly back to my country. So while I contribute absolutely nothing to their community, I TAKE their Educational benefits everyday. That is WRONG.

[Renesis]

Thats not devil's advocate. That is some Liberal bleeding heart horseshit!

Mexican residents should not have their education subsidized by American tax payers. Just like they should not have their healthcare subsidized by American tax payers.

Hey, maybe the schools are better in Europe, maybe I'll fly there everyday and goto school there at the expense of European tax payers, and then fly back to my country. So while I contribute absolutely nothing to their community, I TAKE their Educational benefits everyday. That is WRONG.

Boom baby. Agree 100% here.

[RA]

lol, I see your fired up about the subject. I agree 100% bro.

Thats not devil's advocate. That is some Liberal bleeding heart horseshit!

Mexican residents should not have their education subsidized by American tax payers. Just like they should not have their healthcare subsidized by American tax payers.

Hey, maybe the schools are better in Europe, maybe I'll fly there everyday and goto school there at the expense of European tax payers, and then fly back to my country. So while I contribute absolutely nothing to their community, I TAKE their Educational benefits everyday. That is WRONG.

[kfrost06]

do they also go to the farms and videotape the faces of the workers that cross the border to do cheap labor? w/o healthcare and for less then minimum wages? I bet half the politicians in the town have illegal help working for them in some capacity

[thegodfather]

do they also go to the farms and videotape the faces of the workers that cross the border to do cheap labor? w/o healthcare and for less then minimum wages? I bet half the politicians in the town have illegal help working for them in some capacity

I am in favor of advocating that any and all people attempting to break into the United States illegally be shot on site. You would shoot someone who attempts to break into your home without knowing their intentions. We have no way to know the intentions and backgrounds of these undocumented individuals who illegally enter our country without following the proper pathways and checkpoints. It puts each and every American citizen in danger by allowing these people to break into our home.

Additionally, illegal immigrants DO NOT do work that American's refuse to do. They offer their labor at a cheaper RATE than an American worker can afford to live off of. Since the illegal immigrant often does not pay taxes, yet continually takes and benefits from the tax dollars of American workers, they can afford to work for such menial wages. Lets get that clear, anytime you want to say that an American will not do a job, please add "at the rate I am willing to pay."

[Logan13]

I am in favor of advocating that any and all people attempting to break into the United States illegally be shot on site. You would shoot someone who attempts to break into your home without knowing their intentions. We have no way to know the intentions and backgrounds of these undocumented individuals who illegally enter our country without following the proper pathways and checkpoints. It puts each and every American citizen in danger by allowing these people to break into our home.

Additionally, illegal immigrants DO NOT do work that American's refuse to do. They offer their labor at a cheaper RATE than an American worker can afford to live off of. Since the illegal immigrant often does not pay taxes, yet continually takes and benefits from the tax dollars of American workers, they can afford to work for such menial wages. Lets get that clear, anytime you want to say that an American will not do a job, please add "at the rate I am willing to pay."

Exactly!

[Fat Guy]

That's not devil's advocate. That is some Liberal bleeding heart horseshit!

I thought that was funny. I always like you hard a$$ unsympathetic responses to humane issues. To me there right up there with the cliché of “Kill em All, and Let God Sort em Out! Hoorah!” IMO they are usually unpractical and naïve to the real problem, but dam if they don’t make you feel manly when you say them…

I think there can be a solution to this problem but I agree with you in that it is wrong the way it is now. I don’t know what the solution is off the top of my head but I think there could be some funding subsidiary from the families or local Mexican municipalities but I’m sure something could be worked out then what it is now.

[Logan13]

I thought that was funny. I always like you hard a$$ unsympathetic responses to humane issues. To me there right up there with the cliché of “Kill em All, and Let God Sort em Out! Hoorah!” IMO they are usually unpractical and naïve to the real problem, but dam if they don’t make you feel manly when you say them…

I think there can be a solution to this problem but I agree with you in that it is wrong the way it is now. I don’t know what the solution is off the top of my head but I think there could be some funding subsidiary from the families or local Mexican municipalities but I’m sure something could be worked out then what it is now.

How about if we deport them and then stop them from crossing the border illegally...........

[Fat Guy]

How about if we deport them and then stop them from crossing the border illegally...........

I am all for it but a... Good luck with that...

[Fat Guy]

And BTW this is just a guess on my part but that education and healthcare that we are providing & paying for 20 million plus illegal immigrants is sponsored by the U.S. government to provide the U.S. with cheap labor for major business interest who lobby hard for our current presidential administration which many ignorant people voted for. Just my 2 cents…

[Logan13]

And BTW this is just a guess on my part but that education and healthcare that we are providing & paying for 20 million plus illegal immigrants is sponsored by the U.S. government to provide the U.S. with cheap labor for major business interest who lobby hard for our current presidential administration which many ignorant people voted for. Just my 2 cents…

So it is your opinion that illegals just started coming here during the last 7 years......? NAFTA, which can be blamed for much of the current issues we have, was put into affect on Jan. 01, 1994. Pushed by Bill Clinton and passed by the Republican Congress. Both sides of the aisle have NAFTA blood on their hands, so if you are going to push the "I hate Bush" agenda, at least be factually correct when doing so..........
I do agree with "education and healthcare that we are providing & paying for 20 million plus illegal immigrants is sponsored by the U.S. government to provide the U.S. with cheap labor for major business interest who lobby hard"......

[RA]

So your blaming Bush? Thats funny...like we had no illegals prior to him.

And BTW this is just a guess on my part but that education and healthcare that we are providing & paying for 20 million plus illegal immigrants is sponsored by the U.S. government to provide the U.S. with cheap labor for major business interest who lobby hard for our current presidential administration which many ignorant people voted for. Just my 2 cents…

[Fat Guy]

What I am saying on this issue is that the illegal immigration problem is intentionally overlooked by government officials due to big business special interest groups wanting a cheap labor force.

And Logan you are right when you say both sides of the aisle have blood on their hands from NAFTA. However, gentleman the immigration issue goes many years before NAFTA and continues to get worse with the American Taxpayer flipping the bill. Illegal immigration exponentially got worse during the 80’s when Reagan gave millions of illegals amnesty.

Between NAFTA, amnesty, and bought and paid for government by major business interest the immigration issue will only get worse.

And my reasoning for the comment about the Bush Administration is because if there ever was an administration that was bought and paid for it is this administration. I do realize that this is the nature of the beast but this admin has perfected catering to the power elites and screwing the American public.

I guarantee that the immigration issue will only get worse with this type of current governmental policy and it will be the U.S. middleclass that pays the price.

[RA]

What I am saying on this issue is that the illegal immigration problem is intentionally overlooked by government officials due to big business special interest groups wanting a cheap labor force.

And Logan you are right when you say both sides of the aisle have blood on their hands from NAFTA. However, gentleman the immigration issue goes many years before NAFTA and continues to get worse with the American Taxpayer flipping the bill. Illegal immigration exponentially got worse during the 80’s when Reagan gave millions of illegals amnesty.

Between NAFTA, amnesty, and bought and paid for government by major business interest the immigration issue will only get worse.

And my reasoning for the comment about the Bush Administration is because if there ever was an administration that was bought and paid for it is this administration. I do realize that this is the nature of the beast but this admin has perfected catering to the power elites and screwing the American public.

I guarantee that the immigration issue will only get worse with this type of current governmental policy and it will be the U.S. middleclass that pays the price.

So tell me how? I know that is what Democrats say about every Republican president but I want to know exactly how Bush is catering to the power elites...and dont say tax cuts because as JFK, Reagan, and Bush all know it stimulates the economy.

[Fat Guy]

So tell me how? I know that is what Democrats say about every Republican president but I want to know exactly how Bush is catering to the power elites...and dont say tax cuts because as JFK, Reagan, and Bush all know it stimulates the economy.

How about for starters and to stay on topic, Bush is catering to big business interest by ignoring the illegal immigration issue and not coming up with effective strategies for stopping the flood of people who come to this country every day.

However, the Bush administration sure knows how to effectively raise money to send hundreds of thousands troops to occupy a country on the other side of the world…

Hmmm…Here’s an interesting idea which is not an original idea but maybe if this Presidential Admin put as much effort into the border issue as much as this sham war then I’d be willing to bet there would not be as much of an immigration problem… BUT THAT IS NOT THE INTEREST OF MAJOR BUSINESS GROUPS OR SHOULD I SAY THE POWER ELITE!

[gixxerboy1]

I agree with it. Some districts in the same state have better schools. You cant send your kid across the county. So why should Mexicans be aloud to send their kids to anther country.

Its all BS. My girls isnt illegal she is appealing her status. But i see what she can get away with on some hospital bills. I made one phone call and got an emergency room visit dropped from almost 1k to $15 in a 10 min conversion. If that was me i would have paid more and i have insurance

[Logan13]

How about for starters and to stay on topic, Bush is catering to big business interest by ignoring the illegal immigration issue and not coming up with effective strategies for stopping the flood of people who come to this country every day.

However, the Bush administration sure knows how to effectively raise money to send hundreds of thousands troops to occupy a country on the other side of the world…

Hmmm…Here’s an interesting idea which is not an original idea but maybe if this Presidential Admin put as much effort into the border issue as much as this sham war then I’d be willing to bet there would not be as much of an immigration problem… BUT THAT IS NOT THE INTEREST OF MAJOR BUSINESS GROUPS OR SHOULD I SAY THE POWER ELITE!

What the hell is the Dem Congress doing about it? Your infantile partisan ramblings are exactly what is wrong with the Democratic party today. Solutions, not divisive rhetoric.............

[RA]

Agreed...

Both parties are afraid of the issue for fear of losing votes..has nothing to do with pandering to the power elites.

What the hell is the Dem Congress doing about it? Your infantile partisan ramblings are exactly what is wrong with the Democratic party today. Solutions, not divisive rhetoric.............

[Panzerfaust]

Don't even get me started. The open border policy is only the beginning of the North American Union.

I'm at the point that I would find it a great idea to line the border with Military tanks and troops and have a shoot to kill order for any ****ing Mexican scum that think they can come in here and steal from the US.

Radical? Hell yeah, radical times require radical reactions.

But in reality, closed borders and properly staffed agents on the borders would do wonders.

[Logan13]

Don't even get me started. The open border policy is only the beginning of the North American Union.

I'm at the point that I would find it a great idea to line the border with Military tanks and troops and have a shoot to kill order for any ****ing Mexican scum that think they can come in here and steal from the US.

Radical? Hell yeah, radical times require radical reactions.

But in reality, closed borders and properly staffed agents on the borders would do wonders.

We are being PC'd to death in this country. It has stopped us from doing what is needed in many areas.

[kfrost06]

Don't even get me started. The open border policy is only the beginning of the North American Union.

I'm at the point that I would find it a great idea to line the border with Military tanks and troops and have a shoot to kill order for any ****ing Mexican scum that think they can come in here and steal from the US.

Radical? Hell yeah, radical times require radical reactions.

But in reality, closed borders and properly staffed agents on the borders would do wonders.

The same feeling about the Irish was prevelent not too long ago.




Thank God not everyone thinks like you or you would have been born in a different country too! There is nothing wrong with wanting a better life for your kids and this is the greatest country in the history of the world, if I lived somewhere else I too would try to move here. I am very glad my immigrant antecedants traveled here to live and make a better life.

[Panzerfaust]

Yeah, i'm so glad that these goddamn parasites disregard OUR laws and are doing a damn good job of sucking our resources dry.

Schools aren't worth a bucket of piss, hopsitals in debt from unpaid bills from these parasites.

WTF is this goddamn "ESL" (English Second Language) shit? Goddamn, they are promoting it.

Don't be upset when your kid ends up an ignorant moron. Don't blame the school for being shitty, blame yourselfs for not standing up against these blatant law breakers.

I'm out of this particular topic, I get to heated on this easily resolved issue yet completely ignored.

[gixxerboy1]

Thank God not everyone thinks like you or you would have been born in a different country too! There is nothing wrong with wanting a better life for your kids and this is the greatest country in the history of the world, if I lived somewhere else I too would try to move here. I am very glad my immigrant antecedants traveled here to live and make a better life.

There is nothing wrong with immigrants. The difference is illegal immigrants. Why cant you see the difference?

[Fat Guy]

Agreed...

Both parties are afraid of the issue for fear of losing votes..has nothing to do with pandering to the power elites.

Why would both parties be afraid of losing votes from illegals? Illegals don’t vote…

[Fat Guy]

Your infantile partisan ramblings are exactly what is wrong with the Democratic party today. Solutions, not divisive rhetoric.............

A personal attack…Is that the best you can do Logan? Lame!

I will not go for the personal attack… So as I stated before my solution would be to place some of those troops in Iraq at the U.S./ Mexico border. How about that?

But I am not in charge so… the second best solution is to vote for people who do not cater to the power elite/ big business. However, independent politicians are basically nonexistent so what I usually do is vote for and give money to politicians who are socially conscience for the U.S. and organizations that supports the common interest of the U.S. such as Labor Unions, MoveOn.org., ALF_CIO, NEA etc.

You know I’m just a grass roots kind of guy. That’s my solution… What’s yours?


Oh and more thing about your infantile partisan ramblings comment…

[Logan13]

A personal attack…Is that the best you can do Logan? Lame!
Hey, whatever is neccesary to get you thinking outside of your blind ideals.
I will not go for the personal attack… So as I stated before my solution would be to place some of those troops in Iraq at the U.S./ Mexico border. How about that?

But I am not in charge so… the second best solution is to vote for people who do not cater to the power elite/ big business. However, independent politicians are basically nonexistent so what I usually do is vote for and give money to politicians who are socially conscience for the U.S. and organizations that supports the common interest of the U.S. such as Labor Unions, MoveOn.org., ALF_CIO, NEA etc.
Totally agree with the above, as this is definitely a problem shared by both major parties..
You know I’m just a grass roots kind of guy. That’s my solution… What’s yours?


Oh and more thing about your infantile partisan ramblings comment…

I'm sorry that you took such offense to the above comment. You must realize that we did get a logical answer out of you once you dropped the partisan bullshit...........