Public K-12 schools and colleges that shelter migrants would lose their federal education funding under a House bill approved along party lines by a committee and now heading to the floor for consideration.
Republican supporters of H.R. 3941, the Schools Not Shelters Act, said the measure is needed to ensure school safety and funding.
The measure refers to the sheltering of ”aliens who have not been admitted into the United States” — or people entering or living in the country without authorization. The measure was drafted after New York City’s mayor floated an emergency plan to shelter migrants in city school gymnasiums if other facilities became overcrowded.
GOP governors from border states have been bussing thousands of undocumented migrants to New York City and other northern U.S. communities for close to a year.
The bill, according to North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx, chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, “says you can’t house migrants in college dorms. You can’t house illegal immigrants in middle school gyms. You can’t house migrants on any school property if you want your federal funding. Schoolchildren are at risk of losing precious resources — or worse, at risk of physically being put in harm’s way — if we do not pass this bill.”
Democrat opponents call the proposal mean-spirited. They also point out that schools are often used as shelters during other local emergencies, such as weather-related events.
Supporters, however, said it’s unfair for taxpayer-funded schools to use their resources to house those who enter the country illegally.
Read more at K-12 Dive
