Cambridge School Dept. Aids Immigrant Families

The Cambridge public school system has instituted a new program to bridge the gap between the state and the city's immigrant families by educating them about the new law affecting their residency and work status.

The school system started the program this year in an attempt to improve communication with its students and their families who may be in the U.S. illegally, said Sara Garcia, chairman of the Cambridge School Committee's Bilingual Subcommittee, which is running the program.

The program is designed to allay immigrant parents' anxieties about possibly being discovered and deported, fears that school officials say may be preventing some parents from registering their children for school, Garcia said.

The new committee also aims to help immigrants who have been in the U.S. since January 1, 1982, prove their status by providing past records of enrollment, she said.

But Garcia said she does not yet know the means her committee will employ to achieve these goals.

Officials involved in creating the program said the schools are the best link between the immigrants and the state.

"I want the students to see themselves as having a role because they are a link to the American culture and the English language," said Frank Sherry of Centro Presente, a Cambridge organization.

The new immigration law provides that people who can prove they came to the U.S. illegally before January 1, 1982, can gain legal status, including legitimate work permits.

Under the law, some members of a family may be eligible for legalization, but others may be deported. Since the law has implications for the entire family, Garcia said the schools are a qualified apparatus for handling problems that arise.

All children living in the U.S., regardless of their legal status, have the right to public education, as a result of the 1978 Supreme Court case Phyler v. Doe.

Cambridge has more than 65 nations represented in its public schools, but officials said they did not know how many illegal aliens are registered in the schools.