Peach Tree Times

The Center for Immigration Studies recently released a report touching on an analysis by the Census Bureau that sheds light on the impact of immigration, both legal and illegal, in public schools.

“New @CIS_org report underscores that any conversation about the failures of our education system cannot be separated from mass migration. 1 in 4 public school students come from an immigrant-headed household, and yet the elites cry out for more immigration," President of America First Legal Stephen Miller said in a post on Twitter.

Miller served in the West Wing as a senior advisor to the President for the entirety of the Trump Administration and was also a senior aide to lawmakers in Congress.

The study focused on 2,351 Census Bureau-designated Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA), and uncovered various effects of immigration on schools. It found that students from immigrant households, regardless of legal status, make up a large amount of the student population in certain areas. The households tend to have more students enrolled in schools than U.S. born households. The study also found that there is a higher percentage of students from immigrant households that come from low-income families and speak a foreign language at home. This creates challenges for schools, and is more apparent in areas already struggling to educate those who are disadvantaged.

The analysis showed that in 2021, about 23% of public school students in the U.S., or 11 million students, were from immigrant-headed households. The percentage more than doubled since 1990 and more than tripled since 1980. Also about 83% of the students in immigrant households were born in the U.S.

A major disparity was found in the student-to-household ratio with public school students from immigrant households and those from U.S.-born households. There were 55 public school students for every 100 immigrant households, compared to 33 students for every 100 U.S.-born households. The report said the differences can be due to younger age profile of immigrants, likelihood to have children and preference to send children to public schools.

Out of 2,351 designated PUMAs, only 700 accounted for two-thirds of students from immigrant households despite making up more than a third of the total public school enrollment numbers. Many of the PUMAs had a large amount of students from immigrant households, sometimes more than half.

The analysis found that in 2021, 21% of public school students from immigrant households lived below the poverty line. This makes up 29% of students in poverty. Immigrants often settled in high poverty areas, and also presented additional challenges for schools. The lower income levels of immigrant households also strained school budgets as tax contributions correlate with income. Immigration also led to a major increase in the population of students who speak another language at home. The study found that 22% of public school students in 2021 were non-native English speakers.

The study showed that high levels of immigration in recent decades have led to regions where natives and their children are in the minority or nearing that. 

“The share of students from households headed by an immigrant (legal or illegal) is so large in parts of the country that it raises profound questions about assimilation,” the report stated.