The Carrboro Board of Aldermen today unanimously passed a resolution supporting immigrant children and local governments’ constitutional duty to provide immigrant children with a public education without regard to a student’s immigration status. The resolution was developed and supported by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the ACLU of North Carolina, and numerous individual and community partners who believe that education is a basic human right that should be afforded to all children, no matter their immigration status. The resolution passed in Carrboro was the first step in the Southern Coalition for Social Justice’s efforts in working to empower the immigrant community, in the Triangle region and beyond, in response to anti-immigrant resolutions that had previously been passed in other North Carolina jurisdictions.
George Eppsteiner, staff attorney at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, explains that the Carrboro resolution, “affirms the basic human and constitutional right of any minor child to attend public schools in North Carolina. This resolution is a step in the right direction to change the immigration conversation to promote a welcoming community for immigrant children and their families, who are often escaping extreme violence and poverty in their home countries.” The Carrboro resolution also encourages Carrboro’s Town Manager to identify community resources to assist immigrant children and supports legal assistance to immigrant children in court hearings. Immigrants do not currently have a legal right to a court-mandated attorney in immigration proceedings. Carrboro’s resolution is a very positive development and is only the first step in empowering the immigrant community in North Carolina. You may read the Carrboro Resolution here.
