05/12/2026
Now more than ever, we are seeing how important it is for children of immigrant families to receive quality education within our communities. Often, children who learn English (quickly!) are able to help non-English speaking family members move towards language learning and adapt more readily into community life.
Our communities are stronger and healthier when every child has access to public education.
For more than 40 years, every child in America has had the right to attend public school, no matter where their parents were born or what paperwork they hold. That promise comes from a 1982 Supreme Court decision, Plyler v. Doe, and it has shaped a generation of teachers, nurses, soldiers, business owners, and neighbors.
The numbers tell the story. Since 1982, more than 4.8 million undocumented children have benefited from equal access to public education. That access has generated over $633 billion in net state and local fiscal gains (after accounting for the cost of educating them) and lifetime GDP contributions are expected to total $2.71 trillion. (Source: FWD.us)
If that access were taken away, the U.S. workforce would lose more than 450,000 workers in jobs typically requiring a high school diploma, plus another 300,000 in industries that need college-educated workers. Healthcare costs would climb by an estimated $24.2 billion from preventable conditions.
Kids in classrooms become workers in our economy and members of our communities. Pulling them out doesn't save money. It costs us.
