During an interview Wednesday with radio host Joe “Pags” Pagliarulo, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he is interested in challenging a Supreme Court ruling that requires schools to allow migrant children to enroll in class.
In 1975, Texas lawmakers revised the state’s education laws to prevent children who were not “legally admitted” into the country from enrolling public schools. They also agreed to withhold any state funds for the education of children who were not “legally admitted” into the country.
In 1982, a Supreme Court ruling for the Plyler v. Doe case determined that denying undocumented children of illegal immigrants the right to attend public school constitutes discrimination based on alienage, a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
“I think that we will resurrect that case, and challenge this issue again,” said Abbott.
He said that educating English-language learners has been an “extraordinary” stress on Texas schools.
Known for his pro-life stance on abortion, Abbott also discussed the leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion which would overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that protects the right to abortion access in the U.S. with Pagliarulo.
“Roe v. Wade will be stricken down because abortion should be handled by the states,” Abbott said. “Texas is a pro-life state. This is going to be a monumental decision that comes out. It will be transformative on this issue.”
Texas has passed some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. However, a recent poll conducted by the University of Texas at Austin found that most respondents believe people should either always be able to obtain an abortion or should be able to get one under certain circumstances.
In addition to his plans to revive Plyler vs. Doe, Abbott also told Pagliarulo that Texas is working to block immigrants from coming over the border through several methods, including: a border wall, razor wire, working with Mexican officials and sending National Guard members to the border.
“We have about 10,000…guard at the border, who are armed and who have actually turned back well over 15,000 people already,” he said.
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