Commentary—The National Education Association (NEA) today joined scores of other professionals who advocate for children, including pediatricians, psychologists, and social workers, in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas. The amicus brief urges the Court to vacate a preliminary injunction that blocked the implementation of executive actions announced by President Barack Obama in 2014 aimed at keeping millions of children and families together.
NEA President Lily Eskelsen García issued the following statement:
“Educators and children’s advocates are speaking up today with one voice by filing an amicus brief to illustrate how important this case is and what is at stake for millions of students and families.
“If not reversed, the lower court’s ruling will harm the health and education of millions of children faced with separation from their parents, who are aspiring new Americans afraid to come out from the shadows of society. The decision impacts mothers, fathers, neighbors, friends, and, yes, our students.
“Educators know from experience that family unity plays a critical role in student success. Yet a growing number of public school students live in fear that our nation’s immigration policies are breaking up their families, forcing them to choose between their country and their loved ones.
“What we also know, and this brief argues, is that children whose parents face removal from the United States are more likely to suffer a host of harms, particularly to their educational opportunities and psychosocial wellbeing. These young people deserve the very best education and support we can give them. The United States has been their home. They have celebrated their birthdays, attended school, and dreamed their dreams right here in the USA. These young people are eager to succeed, and they are a vitally important part of our future. Keeping families together is essential to keeping America strong.
“The legal and morally right action to take now for our students and their families is for the Court to reverse the lower court’s harmful ruling. That’s why we are coming together today as children’s and families advocates.
“In the end, however, the long-term solution is to fix our nation’s broken immigration system. Now more than ever we need to bring about comprehensive immigration reform.”
To download the amicus brief, please click here.