releases: https://web.archive.org/web/20140912000704/http://www.vitter.senate.gov/newsroom/press/vitter-are-1275-illegal-immigrant-children-starting-school-in-louisiana
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://web.archive.org/web/20140912000704/http://www.vitter.senate.gov/newsroom/press/vitter-are-1275-illegal-immigrant-children-starting-school-in-louisiana | Vitter: Are 1,275 Illegal Immigrant Children Starting School in Louisiana? | 2014-09-10 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | LA | David Vitter | V000127 | web.archive.org | legacy | Vitter: Are 1,275 Illegal Immigrant Children Starting School in Louisiana? Wednesday, September 10, 2014 (Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) reached out to John White, Louisiana Superintendent of Education, regarding the state’s ability to handle the influx of the 1,275 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) relocated to Louisiana. Vitter has said the influx is a direct result of the Obama Administration’s policies. “President Obama’s policies created this illegal immigration mess in Louisiana, and the school system should not be left to clean it up,” Vitter said. “This could potentially cause a huge financial burden for the state, and for no reason except the Obama Administration is completely inept at enforcing immigration laws and securing our border.” According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a minimum of 1,275 UACs have been relocated to Louisiana, which puts the state among the top 10 states that have received relocated children. Vitter has been calling out the Obama Administration for its practices of assisting foreign children being smuggled into the country illegally without penalizing their parents. Vitter has legislation to implement mandatory detention and expedited removal. He has also asked DHS how many times this practice has occurred. Click here to read more. Vitter is the Chairman of the Senate Border Security Caucus. Below is the text of Vitter’s letter to White today. September 10, 2014 John White Louisiana Department of Education 1201 North Third Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 Dear Superintendent White: I wanted to bring to your attention a very important and timely issue that could have a major impact on this school year. According to a recent response I received from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a minimum of 1,275 unaccompanied alien children (UACs) have been relocated with sponsors in Louisiana. This places Louisiana in the top 10 of states receiving UACs relocated by the Obama Administration. Below you will find a breakdown of the number of UACs received by parish. This massive and sudden influx of children has the potential to cause significant challenges for the upcoming school year. To begin with, these children were brought here illegally and in most cases, were part of a human smuggling operation. Often, these children were abused physically, sexually, and most certainly emotionally. In addition, nearly all of these children do not speak English, and in some cases, do not even speak Spanish. The trauma this vulnerable group faced will surely leave lasting scars and the lack of language skills coupled with their illegal immigration status will pose significant challenges in educating these UACs. East Baton Rouge 173 Jefferson Parish 533 Lafayette Parish 51 Orleans Parish 237 St. Tammany Parish 54 In an effort to better grasp any impact the relocation of these children will have on the education system in Louisiana, I ask that you answer the following questions: (1) For the 2014-2015 school year what is the average state contribution that will be given to school districts to assist in the cost of educating students? (2) For the same year, what is the total average cost of educating students in each of the five parishes mentioned above? (3) Will each of these students be taken into account when calculating the amount of state funding that will be given to each impacted school district for the 2014-2015 school year? (4) Will the state or local educational agencies receive additional Federal funding to assist in educating these students? (5) What is the additional cost in providing English as a second language classes to these students? Particularly to students who speak neither English nor Spanish? (6) How will the addition of these students affect class sizes in each of these districts? (7) Will the addition of these students necessitate hiring an additional faculty member so as not to heavily impact class sizes? Thank you for your time and consideration in answering these questions. I look forward to receiving your responses. Sincerely, David Vitter U.S. Senator | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |