Latino School Enrollment Up In Cities With Immigration Laws

FORT WORTH, TX (AP) – North Texas cities debating local immigration ordinances also are home to school districts with some of the state’s largest increases in Hispanic enrollment.

That’s according to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram analysis of Texas Education Agency data.

The Irving and Carrollton-Farmers Branch school districts were in the state’s top 5 percent for the greatest proportional increases in Hispanic students from 1995-96 to 2005-06.

The two school districts also ranked in the top 30 for the greatest percentage-point increases in poor children and students with limited English proficiency.

The newspaper did not say whether the data explained if the Hispanic students were immigrants or U.S.-born.

Experts think the rise in Hispanic enrollment may help explain the push for strict immigration-related measures cities such as Farmers Branch and Irving.

Demographer Michael Teitelbaum of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation says very rapid change seems to make a lot of people uncomfortable.

Irving police participate in a federal program that lets jailers call a 24-hour number to have an immigration officer verify if a detainee is legally in the country.

Farmers Branch recently approved an ordinance that requires prospective tenants to get a city license to rent houses and apartments.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)