The debate over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA program, could start having a big impact in Texas schools, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
The Texas State Teachers Association says there are about 2,000 public school teachers in the state who are covered by DACA, which means they arrived in the U.S. as children with their illegal immigrant parents.
The TSTA's Clay Robison says deporting all those teachers would have a devastating impact on the state's children, its educational system, and the economy.
"To see their classroom disrupted by a teacher being forced to leave and deported in the middle of the school year would be very detrimental to their learning experience."
He says the 'dreamers' received their secondary and college educations in Texas and are now working in school districts across the state.
"It would be traumatic for students," Robison said. "They get used to their teachers. Most of them like their teachers."
It would also be devastating for public school districts, who would have to immediately find replacements for 2,000 teachers. With the state's economy at essentially full employment and many opportunities open to young people, especially in the booming tech industry, recruiting qualified teachers has become very challenging.