ELL students held back by their parents

To the editor:

Stating that “About 80 percent of Clark County’s ELL students are born in the United States” might be the politically correct way to avoid telling us how many of the students’ parents are here illegally. But it does tells us how long these families have been in the United States and that, by their own free will, the parents have chosen not to learn English or enable their children to do so (“Advocates seek more funds for ELL kids,” Monday Review-Journal). Instead, those parents let the responsibility and cost fall upon the rest of us, together with their own free health care, government benefits and the rest of their children’s education. Yet still they want more.

“Linguistic isolation” is the new problem to be overcome. It’s caused by parents who, again by their own free will, continue to speak a non-English language at home rather than foster the development of their children’s English language skills. The proposed solution is to create programs which provide greater separation between ELL students and their parents through pre-K and summer programs.

To that end, as Monday’s story notes, lawyers from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund held fact-finding meetings in Las Vegas, in Spanish, asking parents “whether they’ve had any run-ins with teachers ill-equipped to handle students learning English.”

According to the Lincy Institute, “lawsuits have been filed in 44 states over concerns that ELL students weren’t getting an equal education.” Sylvia Lazos, director of the Immigration Clinic at the Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, argued for expansion of the “revenue pie,” saying it might take a lawsuit here to convince the community to think differently.

It’s hard enough to put food on my own table, and pay my own bills, and I’m sick and tired of trying to do it with a Hispanic hand forever in my pocket.

GRAHAM H. TYE

NORTH LAS VEGAS

It’s only the beginning

To the editor:

I see that illegal immigrants will now be given the right to drive legally in Nevada. (“State legislators see benefits of driver authorization cards,” May 20 Review-Journal). For now, this “ID Card” cannot be used to establish residency, allow them to vote or seek any type of taxpayer-funded benefits.

They seem to be doing just fine without those anyway.

Mark my words, the Democrats have opened another can of worms, and by the time attorneys and liberal judges get done with it, this card will entitle illegal immigrants to anything that’s assured to a taxpaying American citizen.

Sen. Mo Denis, please, not all of us are the simpletons you perceive us to be. Safety? Give me a break.

This is nothing more than another example of the Democratic Party bending to a bunch of criminals for the sake of votes.

FRANK THOMPSON

HENDERSON