Dear Senator Turner,
I write to you today to share my support for and encouragement of the proposed Senate Bill: SB-2065, which was created to protect and support students in primary and secondary education who are immigrants themselves or are closely affiliated with someone who is an immigrant. Specifically, it is my understanding that this bill would provide important protections for the rights of undocumented immigrants who are students in the state of Illinois.
The current GOP has been forthright and thorough in declaring their anti-immigrant agenda. In myriad public statements, both the president and the Republican Party have laid out their intentions to pursue immigrants with every tool of legislative and authoritarian intervention possible. Further, their vitriol and affiliated actions do not appear to be intended to target solely undocumented immigrants, as reports continue to surface of even those with government-issued, legal status are being threatened and pursued. Though there are already federal protections for students in these circumstances, recent events have led me to lose faith in the strength and integrity of the federal government.
Undocumented, school-age children in the United States have the same rights to education as United States citizens. This was determined in the United States Supreme Court decision in Plyler V. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982), which established that American public schools are prohibited from denying enrollment to undocumented students, engaging in practices that might discourage undocumented students and their families from accessing educational services, requiring disclosure of the immigration status of a parent or child, making inquiries of children or parents that might reveal their immigration status, or requiring social security numbers (or documents that can only be obtained by those with social security numbers) as a prerequisite to school enrollment. It was determined by the court that to support the actions taken by the state of Texas would be a decision to deprive innocent children of a fundamental right to education. The court also determined that the children in question were not to be held accountable for the actions of others that led to their residing in the United States as undocumented immigrants. The court even found that discriminatory and exclusionary tactics proposed by Texas against these children did nothing to solve the problems that the state claimed these children were causing.
Despite this decades-established decision proclaiming the responsibility of the United States to provide and protect the rights of these children to education, the GOP has made their priorities to group all immigrants into a single, one-dimensional scapegoat and exclude them from any and all resources to which they’ve been deemed entitled, and they do not appear to care much whether or not their actions would negatively impact innocent children. Bill 2065 has, sadly, become an important preventive measure to ensure that children in the state of Illinois are not deprived of an education should the GOP decide to reverse decisions such as that of Plyler v. Doe. As we saw with the reversal of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, we can no longer rely solely on federal protections for students, as we now know even well-established Supreme Court decisions are vulnerable to being re-visited and undone and with destructive outcomes to those most in need of legislative protections of their rights.
Should the long-standing federal protections established for the betterment of all be overturned, children in Illinois and their families will rely on State protections to bolster their efforts to receive an education and invest in their futures. We must prevent any circumstances or practices within our public schools which might discourage or endanger children seeking education. Such practices as requiring the adult attempting to register a child for public education to provide documentation that could only be acquired by a person residing here with a legal status must be banned and bound by legislation at the state level.
Even as Mr. Trump and his constituents threaten to punish sanctuary states by withholding federal funding, I urge you and your fellow supporters of Bill 2065 to continue a vital mission – one that makes me truly proud to call myself an American despite my grief and shame in the same sentiment – to provide fundamental rights to all who come here seeking what we claim to stand for as a nation. To fear immigrants is to fear the very foundation of our great country’s success and ingenuity. I personally am far more fearful of a future United States that does not enjoy the innovation, security, health and success that result in welcoming those who have deemed America worthy of their investments and support. Please continue your hard work in protecting not just the rights of all who reside in these United States, but also in protecting a bright and thriving future for our country; one that can only come about if we protect and provide for a well-educated populous.
Sincerely,
[Student Name]
Yes, it is longer than an actual advocacy letter ought to be, but this is an assignment to see how you show of your advocacy letter-writing skills, so it is the right length.
You open with your request, and your concluding paragraph repeats your top message: you want Illinois to pass a law to protect the rights to education for immigrant children in Illinois, no matter their immigration status.
Your letter presents the problem. Although a Supreme Court decision (based on the 14th Amendment, I think, but also possibly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) has already decided that immigrant children (even those who did not enter the United States with permission to reside here) must be provided an education, there are good grounds for fearing that this will be overturned by the MAGA GOP. So, the state needs a law to protect these immigrant children.
In this case, your State Senator is already a supporter of the bill, so your letter is more of an affirmation, and you are pleading with the Senator to make this a priority and help get this bill passed. That is a good thing to do; many good bills are introduced, but if they are not a priority, they may not get through committee or get a floor vote to become law. Telling someone in the legislature that you like a bill they are co-sponsoring and you think it is important that this particular bill become a law is helpful political practice.
Your letter is respectful, and it has your voice in it. I think the letter is of such a high quality that staff would pass this on to Senator Turner, and she would respond. The way we write these letters, when we convey passion, personal feelings, and we are respectful, I think this can move the good legislators.
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