The Mexican American Experience, a radio program produced by the Longhorn Radio Network, includes interviews, music, and informational programs related to the Mexican American community and their concerns. Program summary: Guest Isais Torres discusses the lawsuit challenging a 1975 law that barred undocumented children from public education, as well as its national implications. Torres is a member of the litigation team representing 17 cases against the 1975 state law. He explains that even before the law, many school districts denied undocumented children a public education. The 1975 law originated in legislation sponsored by a Rio Grande Valley politician who was concerned that border schools lacked the resources to educate both documented and undocumented children. Torres argues that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection of these children, interferes with their right to due process and breaks international treaties. Moreover, Torres argues, undocumented families who bring their children to the United States tend to be permanent settlers and denying their children an education will create a segment of society undereducated and without marketable skills. Torres takes issue with studies that seem to show large numbers of undocumented children and argues that the logic behind those calculations is faulty. He further argues that studies that claim to indicate the number of undocumented workers in the United States are largely unreliable because they do not distinguish between temporary and permanent migrants and tend to base their figures on the number of apprehended migrants. Torres also responds to critics of educating undocumented children. Torres believes that the courts should find that states cannot regulate education and immigration, and hopes that the legislator will repeal the statute. Keywords: 1970 Census, Beaumont, Bilingual Programs, Center for Immigration Rights, Citizenship, Civil Rights, Due Process, Education, El Paso, Employer Sanctions, Equal Protection, Esteban Torres, Houston, Human Rights, Illegal Alien, Immigrant Detention, International Treaties, Isais Torres, Jorge Bustamante, Judge Woodrow Seals, Lawsuits, Mexican-American Legal Defense Fund, Migration, Office of Population Research, Oscar Mauzy, Permanent Residents, Permanent Settlers, Peter Shay, Princeton University, Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, School Districts, Statute Education Code 21.031, Stop and Flow Migration, Temporary Migration, Tyler, Undocumented Children, Undocumented Workers. Broadcast date: 1980-02-26.
Creator/Contributor:
Longhorn Radio Network (creator), Fregoso, Rosa Linda. (host), and Torres, Isais (interviewee)
Date Created/Date Issued:
2/23/1980
Owning Repository:
Benson Latin American Collection, LLILAS Benson Latin American Studies and Collections, The University of Texas at Austin
sound recordings, grabaciones sonoras, radio programs, programas de radio, and Audio
Extent:
25 minutes, 5 seconds
Rights - Use and Reproduction:
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language:
English
Place of Publication:
Austin (Tex.)
Topic:
Education--Finance, Discrimination in education, Children of noncitizens--Education, Children of migrant laborers--Education--Law and legislation, Right to education, and Hijos de trabajadores migratorios--Educación--Leyes y legislación
Time Period Covered:
1980-1989 and 1970-1979
Place Name:
Houston (Tex.), El Paso (Tex.), Dallas (Tex.), and California