Lower Courts

Plyler v. Doe: Securing Undocumented Immigrants the Constitutional Right to Education

Lower Courts

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

On September 6, 1977, MALDEF filed federal class action lawsuit Plyler v. Doe on behalf of four undocumented Mexican families (John Doe) against Tyler ISD and its superintendent, James Plyler. The case challenged the constitutionality of Section 21.031, on the grounds that it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, which states: 

"[n]o State shall . . . deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."​​​​​​​

James Plyler, (The Tyler Paper) 

U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice, (Texas Observer)

The plaintiffs contended that the statute should face strict judicial scrutiny as it completely denied undocumented children access to education and unfairly punished them for their parents' actions, despite their lack of control over their immigration status. U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice heard the case, and found that Section 21.031 did violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. 

In his ruling, Judge Justice asserted that while denying undocumented children access to a public education might reduce costs, it would not improve the quality of education for U.S. citizens. Instead, it would inflict lasting harm on an already vulnerable group of children. ​​​​​​​

“Whatever merit appellees' argument might have if a State's financing system occasioned an absolute denial of educational opportunities to any of its children, that argument provides no basis for finding an interference with fundamental rights where only relative differences in spending levels are involved and where — as is true in the present case — no charge fairly could be made that the system fails to provide each child with an opportunity to acquire the basic minimal skills necessary for the enjoyment of the rights of speech and of full participation in the political process.”

- Doe v. Plyler, 458 F. Supp. 569 (E.D. Tex. 1978).​​​​​​​

"Already disadvantaged as a result of poverty, lack of English-speaking ability, and undeniable racial prejudices, these children, without an education, will become permanently locked into the lowest socioeconomic class."

- Doe v. Plyler, 458 F. Supp. 569 (E.D. Tex. 1978).​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

This ruling was largely met with public disapproval, as many equated the term 'illegal' with a lack of entitlement to constitutional protections.

Telegrams sent to Judge Justice following the ruling, (Tarlon Law Center)

                                                  The Tyler ISD appealed the judge’s decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

The case was heard on July 21, 1980, in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals by a three-judge panel consisting of Judges Johnson, Dyer, and Politz. The court affirmed that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment applied to undocumented children.

Judge Johnson, (The Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute)

 

Judge Dyer, (The Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism)

Judge Politz, (Louisiana State University of Law)

The judges emphasized that immigration regulation was a federal power, not a state’s prerogative, and that Section 21.031 amounted to unconstitutional discrimination.

“The rights of these illegal aliens and the corresponding responsibilities of the states toward them have not been litigated to an appreciable degree [...] In light of the application of the equal protection clause, Texas may not justify its discrimination by a mere desire to discriminate”

- Plyler v. Doe 628 F.2d 448 (5th Cir. 1980).

The State of Texas was ordered to repeal the law and readmit all the students expelled on the basis of immigration status. ​​​​​​​Subsequently, the Tyler ISD appealed to the Supreme Court and was granted certiorari.