DNews Cost of Illegals

Continuing in the series on illegals, the Dnews brushes on (over) education costs to Utahns of illegals. "Providing illegal immigrants access to public education, health care and other social services costs Utah money. There's no question about that. The question is: How much?"

The first question that should be asked is WHY are we educating illegal alien children. The answer lies in a 1985 Supreme Court decision. Plyler v. Texas A briefer synopsis (and potential solution) can be found at Correcting Plyler Excerpt: "The answer to Plyler is political. The 14th Amendment itself says “The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” [xx] Contrary to what most people today believe, the Supreme Court is not the sole interpreter of the Constitution. The Congress can and should pass legislation clarifying that the Equal Protection Clause cannot be construed to compel a state to provide discretionary benefits, including public education, to anyone who is not legally admitted into the United States. The legislation should specify that it is not subject to judicial review.
At one stroke, such a law would overturn Plyler v. Doe— and go a long way toward countering the growing belief that we have no choice but to pretend that illegal aliens are in fact American citizens."

Like the previously mentioned "anchor baby" interpretation of the 14th amendment, Congress could provide a legislative solution for this "unfunded mandate."