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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Plyler v. Doe (1982)
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A quick definition of Plyler v. Doe (1982):
Plyler v. Doe was a court case in the United States where the Supreme Court said that children who are not citizens of the United States or Texas still have rights under the law. The case was about a law in Texas that said schools did not have to let children who were not "legally admitted" into the United States go to school. The Supreme Court said this law was not fair and went against the Fourteenth Amendment, which says everyone should be treated equally. The Court also said that just because someone is not a citizen does not mean they do not have rights.
A more thorough explanation:
Plyler v. Doe was a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982. The case was about a Texas law that denied funding to local schools for the education of children who were not "legally admitted" into the United States. The law also allowed schools to deny enrollment to these children.
The Supreme Court ruled that this law was unconstitutional because it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court said that even though these children were not citizens of the United States or Texas, they were still people and deserved the same protections as everyone else.
For example, if a child was brought to the United States illegally by their parents, they still have the right to go to school and get an education. The Texas law was unfair because it punished these children for something that was not their fault.
The Plyler v. Doe case was important because it established that all children, regardless of their immigration status, have the right to go to school and get an education.