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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

New debate over children of immigrants


Maria Romano poses with two of her three children in New York on Thursday. Romano, 33, came to the United States illegally 17 years ago from Mexico. Her kids have lived here all their lives. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
David Crary Associated Press

NEW YORK – While Congress and the White House wrangle over federal policy on illegal immigrants, states and cities are wrestling with ways to accommodate their children – most of them U.S.-born American citizens, all with full rights to public education.

The debate is often bitter and unpredictable as politicians argue whether to expand or cut health care for these families, whether to bolster immigrant-oriented school programs, and whether to offer in-state college tuition rates to children of illegal immigrants.

Some politicians and organizations contend that initiatives tailored to assist these children only lure more illegal immigrants to the United States. Others argue that most of these several million children will be lifelong Americans, and are more likely to be productive adults if they receive support now.

The report estimated that 22 percent of American children under 6 have immigrant parents. More than 90 percent of these children were born in the United States and automatically are citizens and nearly one-third live with at least one undocumented parent.

Those seeking tougher measures against undocumented people want Congress and the federal courts to reconsider two long-standing national policies – a constitutional provision that bestows citizenship on any child born on U.S. soil and a 1982 Supreme Court ruling requiring public schools to accommodate any school-age child regardless of immigration. Some recent examples of how the immigration debate is playing out:

• Lawmakers in Washington state last month restored state-funded health coverage, severed in 2002, for thousands of children of illegal immigrants.

• Officials in Houston plan to open a school for immigrants, illegally here or not.

•Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed a bill that would have prohibited illegal immigrants from receiving child care assistance.