ACLU Sues Morris County School For Asking Immigrants For ID

HARDING, NJ — The ACLU of New Jersey is suing a Morris County public school – and 11 other school districts – for allegedly flaunting state law and requiring undocumented immigrants to produce identification they don't have access to.

On Thursday, the ACLU-NJ announced that it filed suit against the Harding Township School District for allegedly violating immigrants right to an education. According to the ACLU-NJ, the school asks forms of state-issued identification that require Social Security numbers or "valid immigration status" as a condition for students to enroll, a requirement that New Jersey law "clearly forbids."

"The Harding school district does not admit or deny pupils admission to our district based upon immigration or visa status, nor do our enrollment forms suggest anything to the contrary. If the ACLU had concerns about our registration materials it should have contacted me or our board attorney and this matter could have been easily resolved. It is very unfortunate that the ACLU has decided to file a lawsuit and waste precious taxpayer resources that belong to our children," superintendent Matthew A. Spelker said in a statement sent to Patch.

ACLU-NJ Staff Attorney Elyla Huertas says asking for a drivers license violates New Jersey's state Constitution, which calls for free public education for every child.

"In a state where one in five residents is foreign-born, at a time when our president has made the exclusion of immigrants a key part of his policy agenda, it's more important than ever for every school district in New Jersey to meet its obligations, both to New Jersey's families and to the Constitution," Huertas said.

There are other school districts that also "impose improper requirements" on immigrant parents, but the ACLU-NJ chose to only sue the 12 "most restrictive," the nonprofit stated. Those districts weren't named in a press statement about the lawsuit.

"The exclusionary policies are particularly disturbing in light of the climate of fear in immigrant communities," the organization stated in a news release.

The other schools named in the suit are:

• Northern Valley Regional High School District (Bergen County)
• Bellmawr School District (Camden County)
• Sterling Regional High School District (Camden County)
• Winslow Township School District (Camden County)
• East Orange Community Charter School (Essex County)
• West New York School District (Hudson County)
• Sea Girt School District (Monmouth County)
• Harding Township School District (Morris County)
• Watchung Hills Regional High School District (Somerset County)
• Montague School District (Sussex County)
• Cranford School District (Union County)
• Allamuchy School District (Warren County)

File Photo: NJ MVC

With reporting by Eric Kiefer