[House Report 118-130]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress }                                               {   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session   }                                               {  118-130

======================================================================



 
                        SCHOOLS NOT SHELTERS ACT

                                _______
                                

 June 30, 2023.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Ms. Foxx, from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 3941]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Education and the Workforce, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 3941) to prohibit the use of the 
facilities of a public elementary school, a public secondary 
school, or an institution of higher education to provide 
shelter for aliens who have not been admitted into the United 
States, and for other purposes, having considered the same, 
reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that 
the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Schools Not Shelters Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF SCHOOL AND INSTITUTION FACILITIES TO 
                    SHELTER CERTAIN ALIENS.

  (a) In General.--As a condition on receipt of Federal financial 
assistance under any applicable program by a public elementary school, 
a public secondary school, or an institution of higher education, the 
facilities of the school or institution may not be used to provide 
shelter or housing for specified aliens.
  (b) Construction.--Subsection (a) shall apply notwithstanding 
subparagraphs (B) and (D) of section 401(b)(1) of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 
U.S.C. 1611(b)(1)) and paragraphs (2) and (4) of section 411(b) of such 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1621(b)).
  (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
          (1) The term ``applicable program'' has the meaning given 
        such term in section 400 of the General Education Provisions 
        Act (20 U.S.C. 1221).
          (2) The terms ``elementary school'' and ``secondary school'' 
        have the meaning given such terms in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
          (3) The term ``Federal financial assistance'' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United 
        States Code.
          (4) The term ``institution of higher education''--
                  (A) has the meaning given such term in section 102 of 
                the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002); and
                  (B) does not include an institution that is not 
                located in a State.
          (5) The term ``shelter or housing''--
                  (A) means emergency shelter or housing provided 
                exclusively to specified aliens under order of the 
                Federal Government, a State, or a unit of local 
                government; and
                  (B) does not include short-term emergency shelter 
                made necessary by a specified disaster.
          (6) The term ``specified alien'' means an alien (as defined 
        in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1101(a))) who has not been admitted (as so defined).
          (7) The term ``specified disaster'' means--
                  (A) a fire on public or private forest land or 
                grassland described in section 420 of the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 5187); and
                  (B) any fire, flood, explosion, hurricane, tornado, 
                storm, high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, 
                tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, 
                mudslide, snowstorm, or drought for which a disaster 
                declaration is made by the Federal Government or a 
                State.
          (8) The term ``State'' means any State of the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 
        Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands.

                                Purpose

    Educational facilities should be used for educating 
students, not housing illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, the 
Biden administration and certain government officials are 
abusing their power to bolster the illegal immigration agenda. 
On May 16, 2023, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans 
to house asylum seekers in up to 20 current and former public 
schools with free-standing gyms.\1\ On May 23, 2023, local news 
sources reported that New York Governor Kathy Hochul identified 
three State University of New York (SUNY) campuses--the 
University at Buffalo, Stony Brook University, and the 
University at Albany--for housing up to 1,500 migrants.\2\ 
While community backlash ultimately put a stop to the housing 
of migrants in public K-12 schools in New York City, SUNY 
Chancellor John King confirmed the state university system's 
commitment to supporting Governor Hochul's plans to house 
migrants on college campuses. Housing illegal immigrants on 
school campuses poses a significant safety risk to school 
children, impedes students' access to the educational resources 
they need, and distracts schools and universities from their 
core mission of education. Therefore, H.R. 3941 sends a clear 
message from Congress that schools are for educating students, 
not supporting the Biden Administration's bad policies. The 
academic success and safety of America's students must be put 
first.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-york-city-moving-migrants-school-
gyms-mayor/story?id=99360087.
    \2\https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/05/23/suny-
campuses-migrant-housing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            Committee Action


                             116TH CONGRESS

Second Session--Hearings

    On December 4, 2019, the Committee on Education and Labor 
held a hearing on ``Growing Up in Fear: How the Trump 
Administration's Immigration Policies Are Harming Children.'' 
The purpose of this hearing was to examine the effect of the 
Trump administration's immigration policies on children's 
development, children's access to education, and child 
nutrition programs. Testifying before the Committee were Mr. 
Mark H. Metcalf, County Attorney, Gerrard County, Kentucky; Dr. 
Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez, Assistant Professor, Center for 
Early Childhood Health and Development, New York University 
School of Medicine; Dr. Olanrewaju (Lanre) Falusi, Associate 
Medical Director of Municipal and Regional Affairs at the Child 
Health Advocacy Institute; and Mr. Pedro Martinez, 
Superintendent, San Antonio Independent School District.

                             118TH CONGRESS

First Session--Hearings

    On February 8, 2023, the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce held a hearing on ``American Education in Crisis.'' 
The purpose of the hearing was to examine the state of American 
education, including restoring the rights of parents to have a 
say in their children's education, examining the need for 
transparency and accountability in education systems, and 
updating the education system to serve the needs of students 
and families. The hearing specifically referenced the effect of 
growing migrant populations on schools. Testifying before the 
Committee were Ms. Virginia Gentles, Director, Education 
Freedom Center, Independent Women's Forum, Arlington, Virginia; 
Dr. Monty Sullivan, President, Louisiana Community and 
Technical College System, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Mr. Scott 
Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University, Salt Lake 
City, Utah; and Mr. Jared Polis, Governor, State of Colorado, 
Denver, Colorado.
    On May 16, 2023, the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce held a hearing on ``Examining the Policies and 
Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education.'' The purpose 
of the hearing was to review the Fiscal Year 2024 budget 
priorities of the U.S. Department of Education. The hearing 
specifically referenced the importance of school safety and 
ensuring that all students have access to the educational 
resources they need. Testifying before the Committee was The 
Honorable Miguel Cardona, Secretary, U.S. Department of 
Education, Washington, D.C.

Legislative Action

    On June 1, 2023, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) 
introduced H. Res. 461, Condemning the use of elementary and 
secondary school facilities to provide shelter for aliens who 
are not admitted to the United States, with Rep. Brandon 
Williams (R-NY) as an original co-sponsor. On June 6, 2023, the 
Committee considered H. Res. 461 in legislative session and 
reported it favorably, as amended, to the House of 
Representatives by a vote of 22 to 16. The Committee adopted an 
amendment that expresses the sense of Congress that public 
schools that shelter, house, or otherwise serve as sanctuaries 
for aliens not admitted to the United States should not receive 
federal financial assistance.
    On June 9, 2023, Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-NY) introduced 
H.R. 3941, the Schools Not Shelters Act, with Rep. Williams, 
Rep. Anthony D'Esposito (R-NY), Rep. Nicholas Langworthy (R-
NY), and Rep. Michael Lawler (R-NY) as original co-sponsors. On 
June 13, 2023, the Committee considered H.R. 3941 in 
legislative session and reported it favorably, as amended, to 
the House of Representatives by a vote of 20 to 16. The 
Committee adopted the following amendments to H.R. 3941:
    1. Substitute Amendment--This substitute amendment made one 
technical change to the section 2 heading by adding ``and 
Institution'' after ``School.''

                            Committee Views


                              INTRODUCTION

    Educational facilities should be used for educating 
students, not housing illegal immigrants. Unfortunately, the 
Biden administration and certain government officials are 
abusing their power to bolster the illegal immigration agenda. 
On May 16, 2023, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans 
to house asylum seekers in up to 20 current and former public 
schools with free standing gyms.\3\ On May 23, 2023, local news 
sources reported that New York Governor Kathy Hochul identified 
three SUNY campuses for housing up to 1,500 migrants.\4\ While 
community backlash ultimately put a stop to the housing of 
migrants in public K-12 schools in New York City, SUNY 
Chancellor John King confirmed the state university system's 
commitment to supporting Governor Hochul's plans to house 
migrants on college campuses. Housing illegal immigrants on 
school campuses poses a significant safety risk to school 
children, impedes students' access to the educational resources 
they need, and distracts schools and universities from their 
core mission of education.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-york-city-moving-migrants-school-
gyms-mayor/story?id=99360087.
    \4\https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/05/23/suny-
campuses-migrant-housing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cities are facing an illegal immigration crisis

    The influx of migrants is not only felt by border states. 
Since the Biden administration relaxed immigration policies, 
cities like New York have seen a surge in migrants. A total of 
65,000 asylum seekers came to the city last spring, in addition 
to as many as 4,500 during one week in May.\5\ Staff for New 
York City Mayor Eric Adams admitted that only a small fraction 
of migrants have filed for asylum, which means that most of 
these individuals are prohibited from finding legal work to 
support themselves. Without the means to work, these migrants 
are less likely to be able to move out of government-supported 
housing.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/us/new-york-orange-county-
migrant-restraining-order/index.html.
    \6\https://pix11.com/news/local-news/most-nyc-migrants-have-not-
applied-for-asylum-mayor-adams-office/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The migrant surge comes at a cost and drains other 
resources. Chicago has received 9,000 migrants since August, 
with many sleeping on the floors of a city police station.\7\ 
In Denver, newly arrived migrants are being turned away from 
overfull shelters.\8\ As of mid-May, New York City was housing 
36,700 migrants across 120 locations, spending $5 million per 
day by one estimate.\9\ Increased costs pile on as cities run 
out of set-aside shelter space and are forced to turn to non-
traditional, scarce, or the limited affordable options to house 
illegal immigrants. One estimate reports that 40 percent of New 
York City's ``mid-level hotel stock'' is now being used for 
migrant housing.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/us/new-york-orange-county-
migrant-restraining-order/index.html.
    \8\https://apnews.com/article/migrants-asylum-new-york-eric-adams-
schools-2c61324054e55b0532c48996794cc30a.
    \9\https://nypost.com/2023/03/03/bidens-migrant-mess-costing-new-
york-city-5-million-a-day/.
    \10\https://abcnews.go.com/US/new-york-city-moving-migrants-school-
gyms-mayor/story?id=99360087; https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/18/
nyregion/migrant-housing-shelters-nyc.
html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    As government leaders exhaust traditional resources for 
migrants, public schools and universities have wrongly been 
seen as a default option to house migrants. Even as New York 
City Mayor Adams made the announcement to house illegal 
immigrants on the property of schools, local news reported that 
the first of 300 expected migrants had arrived at a former 
public school on Staten Island.\11\ Adult illegal immigrants 
were being housed at Public School (P.S.) 188 in Brooklyn\12\ 
and another group of illegal immigrants were brought to a gym 
at P.S. 17 in Williamsburg.\13\ In Chicago, local leadership is 
reportedly considering housing hundreds of illegal immigrants 
in a shuttered high school.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\https://nypost.com/2023/05/13/ex-staten-island-school-to-house-
migrants-as-locals-fume/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign= 
nypost&utm_source=twitter.
    \12\https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/newyork/news/sources-nyc-now-
housing-asylum-seekers-at-school-gym-in-brooklyn/.
    \13\https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/us/new-york-orange-county-
migrant-restraining-order/index.html.
    \14\https://nypost.com/2023/05/12/chicago-residents-shred-
politicians-over-plans-to-house-illegal-immigrants-at-high-school/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Since the housing of migrants became more public, 
communities have pushed back and have been successful at 
reversing plans to use public K-12 schools as a housing center 
for migrants.\15\ However, it appears that plans are still 
ongoing to house illegal immigrants in universities across the 
country in dorms, including dorms on at least three SUNY 
campuses in New York.\16\ In Chicago, about 400 migrants are 
being housed at Wilbur Wright College and another 400 migrants 
at Daley College from June 1 through August 1.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/5/17/23727079/migrants-exit-
brooklyn-school-gyms-eric-adams.
    \16\https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2023/05/23/suny-
campuses-migrant-housing.
    \17\https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/wright-college-migrants/; 
https://wgntv.com/news/
chicago-news/hundreds-of-migrants-moved-to-daley-college-amid-housing-
crisis/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Placing migrants in schools and on campuses brings an 
unnecessary problem to the steps of educational facilities that 
administrators simply are not equipped to handle--nor should 
they have to. In addition, these actions perpetuate the belief 
that the Biden administration's open border policies are 
normal--but housing the surge of migrants in educational 
facilities should not become the standard just because the 
federal government has seen fit to create an immigration 
crisis.

The Biden administration's border policies cannot be sustained

    As the expiration of Title 42 neared in mid-May, Americans 
saw unauthorized entries of migrants soar to the height of 
10,000 per day,\18\ and that was after Biden administration 
policies had already led to years of increased illegal 
immigration. In the first four months of the Biden 
administration, encounters at the Southwest boarder alone 
increased by 100,000.\19\ The migrant demographics have also 
changed dramatically: in April 2023, two-thirds of total 
encounters at the Southwest boarder were single adults, and 
April had more terrorist watchlist apprehensions than in all 
the years of the Trump administration combined. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) has arrested 17,533 individuals with 
criminal convictions and apprehended 377 known gang members 
since the beginning of FY 2023.\20\ Since President Biden has 
been in office, there have been over 5 million encounters at 
the Southwest border, in addition to nearly 1.5 million known 
circumstances when an illegal immigrant fled and was not 
captured by U.S. Border Patrol agents.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\https://www.cbsnews.com/news/immigration-title-42-border-
crossings-drop-migrants/.
    \19\https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/southwest-land-border-
encounters.
    \20\https://homeland.house.gov/media/2023/05/Homeland-Startling-
Stats-April.pdf.
    \21\Ibid.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Biden administration's failure to secure the border has 
myriad detrimental effects. Our unsecure border is draining 
resources and stretching law enforcements capabilities beyond 
their means. The administration can no longer avoid the 
disastrous consequences of its failed border policies for 
communities across the country.

Education must be a priority, not failed Democrat policies

    Housing illegal immigrants in schools distracts schools and 
colleges from their core mission of educating students. 
Additional persons on a campus automatically heighten safety 
risks for students, compromise a school's ability to secure its 
own campus, limit children's areas for recreation, and place 
unnecessary responsibility on administrators and educators to 
readjust the regular patterns of a school day. As students 
recover from devastating pandemic school closures, the last 
thing they need is to be distracted and perhaps endangered by 
migrants living in their schools.
    At the university level, resources are equally limited, and 
campuses are open year-round. During the ongoing push from New 
York government officials, institutions like Fordham, Pace 
University, and New York University all said their dorms were 
full for the summer.\22\ Even smaller institutions, including 
campuses within the University of Maine system, are reportedly 
considering housing migrants but would need to spend millions 
to renovate unused facilities to do so.\23\ At the most basic 
level, housing migrants would require additional electricity, 
water, security services, technology services, and 
transportation. For public universities, the costs to house 
migrants on campuses would be borne by the taxpayers, but for 
private institutions costs must come from university reserves 
or be passed on to students through tuition increases. Either 
way, this proposed solution to the Biden administration's 
immigration problem hurts American students and citizens.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \22\https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/colleges-
localities/2023/05/30/housing-
migrants-college-dorms.
    \23\https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/colleges-
localities/2023/05/30/housing-
migrants-college-dorms.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    This influx of illegal immigrants has numerous immediate 
impacts on schools. Public elementary and secondary educators 
cannot be distracted from ensuring students receive a full 
education. Colleges and universities must efficiently maintain 
campuses strictly for the purposes of educating the workforce 
at low costs, and they should not be diverted from that mission 
by the actions of separate government officials.

                               CONCLUSION

    Educating the next generation should be a priority. 
Students and education leaders should not be forced to 
sacrifice access to educational facilities at the whim of those 
who would rather prioritize illegal immigration. It is time to 
send a message that schools should be used for educating 
children, not sheltering adults who chose to enter the country 
illegally. This legislation would rightfully prohibit the 
misuse of educational facilities to shelter or house migrants.

                                Summary


                  H.R. 3941 SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY

     As a condition on receipt of federal financial 
assistance, a public elementary school, a public secondary 
school, or an institution of higher education may not use the 
school or institution's facilities to provide shelter or 
housing for specified aliens. The term ``shelter or housing'' 
means emergency shelter or housing provided exclusively to 
unadmitted aliens under order of the federal government or a 
state or local government and does not include short-term 
emergency shelter made necessary by a specified disaster, as 
defined.

                       EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

    The amendments, including the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, are explained in the body of this report.

              APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch. The Committee finds that H.R. 3941, as amended, does 
not relate to the terms and conditions of employment or access 
to public services or accommodations within the meaning of 
section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

                       Unfunded Mandate Statement

    Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act (as amended by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act, P.L. 104-4) requires a statement of 
whether the provisions of the reported bill include unfunded 
mandates. Because the legislation is a House resolution merely 
expressing the sense of the House of Representatives, it 
requires no action so it does not include any unfunded 
mandates.

                           Earmark Statement

    H.R. 3941 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of House Rule XXI.

                            Roll Call Votes

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee Report to include for 
each record vote on a motion to report the measure or matter 
and on any amendments offered to the measure or matter the 
total number of votes for and against and the names of the 
Members voting for and against.


         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause (3)(c) of House Rule XIII, the 
goal of H.R. 3941 is to send a clear message from Congress that 
schools are for educating students, not supporting the Biden 
Administration's bad policies, and the academic success and 
safety of America's students must be put first.

                    Duplication of Federal Programs

    No provision of H.R. 3941 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of 
another Federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program 
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

  Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the body of this report.

            Required Committee Hearing and Related Hearings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII the 
following hearings held during the 118th Congress were used to 
develop or consider H.R. 3941: On February 8, 2023, the 
Committee held a hearing on ``American Education in Crisis'' 
and on May 16, 2023, the Committee held a hearing on 
``Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department 
of Education.''

               New Budget Authority and CBO Cost Estimate

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, a cost estimate is included.




    H.R. 3941 would prohibit public elementary and secondary 
schools and institutions of higher education that receive 
federal funding from the Department of Education from using 
their facilities to shelter or house aliens (foreign nationals) 
who have not been admitted into the United States. (Aliens who 
are paroled into the country, or who enter after being issued a 
Notice to Appear, have not been admitted.)
    The bill would primarily affect title I programs under the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which provide 
funds for school districts with a high percentage of students 
from low-income households; programs under the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act, which provide funding for special 
education; federal student loans; and Pell Grants.
    CBO expects that those schools and institutions would 
comply with the requirements of the bill to remain eligible for 
federal aid. As a result, CBO estimates the bill would have no 
effect on federal spending. If schools or institutions choose 
not to comply with the requirement in the bill, spending on the 
affected programs would decline, but CBO has no basis to 
estimate the magnitude of that reduction.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Garrett 
Quenneville. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 
Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the 
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 3941. 
However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when, as with the present report, 
the committee adopts as its own the cost estimate of the bill 
being prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    As reported by the Committee, H.R. 3941 makes no changes in 
existing law.

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                              Introduction

    H.R. 3941, the Schools Not Shelters Act, would require the 
forfeiture of federal funds, if a public elementary school, 
public secondary school, or institution of higher education is 
used for emergency shelter for ``aliens not admitted to the 
United States'', except in weather or fire related 
emergencies.\1\ The Majority claims that this bill is needed 
because ``[s]choolchildren are at risk of losing precious 
resources, or worse, at risk of physically being put in harm's 
way if we do not pass this bill.''\2\ However, this bill does 
nothing to protect resources for students and schools or 
address physical safety.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Schools Not Shelters Act, H.R. 3941, 118th Cong. (2023).
    \2\Press Release, H. Comm. on Educ. & the Workforce, 
@EdWorkforceCmte Pass Bills to Bolster Telehealth and Preserve 
Education (June 13, 2023), https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/
documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=409269.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        The U.S. Has a Long History of Using Schools as Shelters

    K-12 schools have long been used to shelter people. The 
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of the U.S. 
Department of Homeland Security includes schools among other 
locations, such as houses of worship and community centers, as 
an option for a congregate shelter.\3\ For example, schools 
constituted 22% of shelters after Hurricane Katrina.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\U.S. Dep`t of Homeland Sec., Planning Considerations: Disaster 
Housing--Guidance for State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Partners at 
8 (May 2020), https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/
planning-considerations-disaster-housing.pdf.
    \4\Stacey R. Brown, Jonathan C. Comer, and Thomas A. Wikle, The 
Locations of Temporary Shelters After Hurricane Katrina, ResearchGate 
(Apr. 2007), https://www.researchgate.net/
profile/Thomas-Wikle/publication/340610775_THE_LOCATIONS_OF_TEMPORARY 
_SHELTERS_AFTER_HURRICANE_KATRINA/ links/5e95012392851c2f529f364e/THE-
LOCATIONS-OF-TEMPORARY-SHELTERS-AFTER-HURRICANE-KATRINA.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Weather related emergencies are not the only reason 
localities use schools as shelters. Just six months ago, 
Chicago, Illinois, planned to use a school as a temporary 
shelter for about 100 migrants,\5\ and El Paso, Texas, prepared 
vacant schools to shelter migrants.\6\ Last month, New York 
City began ``considering gymnasiums that are physically 
separated from the rest of the building''\7\ as emergency 
shelters for migrants due to lack of other space.\8\ According 
to the Council of the Great City Schools, ``[i]n recent years, 
the nation's urban public schools have opened their doors to 
families from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, 
Vietnam, Sudan, and many other countries as they were seeking 
refuge, freedom, and a better tomorrow.''\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Chicago school to be used as temporary shelter for migrants, 
mayor's office confirms, ABC7 Chicago (Dec. 29, 2022), https://
abc7chicago.com/migrants-chicago-public-schools-mayor-lori-
lightfoot-wadsworth-elementary-school/12629140/.
    \6\Fallon Fischer and Nasya Mancini, El Paso Convention Center, 2 
vacant schools will be used as migrant shelters, city says, KFOX14 
(Dec. 20, 2022, 9:58 pm EST), https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/el-paso-
convention-center-2-vacant-schools-will-be-used-as-migrant-shelters-
city-says-bassett-middle-school-morehead-middle-school-immigration-
december-20-2022-title-42.
    \7\Alex Zimmerman and Amy Zimmer, Housing migrants in school gyms: 
What we know (and don't) about NYC's shelter plans, Chalkbeat N.Y. (May 
16, 2023, 4:56 pm EDT), https://ny.chalkbeat.org/2023/5/16/23726093/
nyc-school-gyms-emergency-shelter-asylum-migrants.
    \8\Hurubie Meko, New York City Plans to House Migrant Families in 
Public School Gymnasium, N.Y. Times (May 12, 2023, updated May 16, 
2023), https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/12/nyregion/ny-migrants-public-
school-gym.html.
    \9\Letter from Raymond Hart, Executive Director, Council of the 
Great City Schools, to Chair Virginia Foxx and Ranking Member Bobby 
Scott, H. Comm. on Educ. & the Workforce (June 12, 2023), https://
www.cgcs.org/cms/lib/DC00001581/Centricity/domain/35/
publication%20docs/ CGCS%20Schools%20 Not%20Shelters%20Act.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 3941 only prohibits the emergency sheltering provided 
exclusively to one targeted group--undocumented immigrants. The 
bill's prohibition does not include using school facilities for 
a short-term emergency resulting from a disaster when a 
disaster declaration has been made by a state or the federal 
government; rather, the bill makes an exception for sheltering 
individuals from natural disasters, such as hurricanes. The 
bill targets only emergency shelter for undocumented 
immigrants, and not other groups, and incredibly not even non-
emergency shelter or potentially long-term shelter of 
undocumented immigrants.
    Committee Republicans trumpet the Biden Administration's 
so-called failed border security policy for the challenges 
facing our students and schools. Immigration policy is not 
within this Committee's jurisdiction. If the issue is truly 
about people being sheltered in schools, then the bill would 
not need to single out undocumented immigrants and would 
prohibit the use of schools as shelters in all instances.

  H.R. 3941 Politicizes Public Schools While Doing Nothing to Improve 
                               Education

    In the few hearings that Committee Republicans chose to 
address education this Congress, they did not receive any 
testimony on the issue of the use of schools as emergency 
shelters. Instead, Committee Republicans have squandered their 
time targeting social and culture war topics, such as attacking 
the teaching of accurate and factual history, the banning of 
books, and the participation of LBGTQ+ students in sports. 
Similarly, Committee Republicans are now targeting immigrants 
and the use of schools as emergency shelters rather than 
focusing on legislation that will actually help students and 
schools.
    H.R. 3941 penalizes schools and students for temporary 
actions taken by a locality in an emergency by denying federal 
funding to schools that are used as emergency shelters for 
undocumented immigrants. For example, this prohibition would 
prevent public schools--and thus students at those schools--
from receiving any federal funding under the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the Every 
Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).\10\ This includes critical Title 
I, Part A support to LEAs, which provides funding for low-
achieving and other students attending schools with a 
relatively high concentration of children from low-income 
families; this funding ``serves an estimated 25 million 
students in nearly 90 percent of school districts and nearly 60 
percent of all public schools.''\11\ The bill would also 
withhold funding for migratory students; neglected, delinquent, 
and at-risk children and youth; teacher training and 
professional development; family engagement; school safety 
activities; rural education; Impact Aid; and many more vital 
programs under ESEA. The bill would also withhold funding for 
migratory students; neglected, delinquent, and at-risk children 
and youth; teacher training and professional development; 
family engagement; school safety activities; rural education; 
Impact Aid; and many more vital programs under ESEA. The bill 
would also deny schools much needed funds under the Bipartisan 
Safer Communities Act (BSCA),\12\ which provides funding to 
help schools create safe and healthy school environments and 
increase the number of school-based mental health 
professionals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq. (2015).
    \11\U.S. Dep't of Educ., Education for the Disadvantaged--Fiscal 
Year 2024 Budget Request at 13 (2023), https://www2.ed.gov/about/
overview/budget/budget24/justifications/a-ed.pdf.
    \12\Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, Pub. L. No. 117-159 (2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Committee Republicans allege that students have already 
been affected by learning loss and should not, therefore, have 
to tolerate the distraction of migrants` presence in schools. 
But withholding education funding, which this bill threatens to 
do, is detrimental to students and schools. Denying federal 
funding would cause more learning loss, more disruption, and 
jeopardize multiple school needs including access to mental 
health supports. In contrast, congressional Democrats have 
provided significant assistance to schools in addressing 
learning loss, including providing resources through the 
Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, 
including $122 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act of 
2021,\13\ a bill that all House Republicans opposed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2 (2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Committee Republicans claim that the use of schools as 
shelters will compromise the safety of enrolled students, but 
they are ignoring what is truly endangering our students. 
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, guns are the leading 
cause of death among children and teens.\14\ Any conversation 
about school safety that does not address gun violence is not a 
serious one. Moreover, there is no evidence that migrants are 
more dangerous than citizens or nationals of the United States. 
Furthermore, the Republicans chose not to include other groups 
of people who might be more problematic than ``aliens not 
admitted to the United States'', such as those on bail awaiting 
trial or convicted individuals on work release.\15\ Apparently 
there would be no penalty for providing emergency shelter to 
those individuals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\Matt McGough, Krutika Amin, Nirmita Panchal, and Cynthia Cox, 
Child and Teen Firearm Mortality in the U.S. and Peer Countries, Kaiser 
Fam. Found. (July 8, 2022), https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/
issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-
countries/.
    \15\See Fola Akinnibi, GOP Seizes on Bail Reform as Weapon to Base 
Democrats on Crime, Bloomberg (Nov. 4, 2022), https://
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-04/gop-seizes-on-bail-reform-
as-weapon-to-bash-democrats-on-crime.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

H.R. 3941 Threatens to Remove Vital Funding From Institutions of Higher 
                               Education

    Recently, some local, state, and federal policymakers have 
suggested the use of institutions of higher education to 
provide shelter for undocumented immigrants and asylum 
seekers.\16\ Specifically, residence halls, which are sometimes 
utilized at a lower rate during the summer, have been proposed 
as an ideal place to shelter migrants with relative ease. While 
there may be some local debate about using college 
campuses,\17\ sheltering migrants in residence halls does not 
currently appear to be a common practice. It is likely not an 
option when students are on campus for fall and spring 
semesters and utilizing the on-campus housing. Additionally, 
institutions may use their residence halls in the summer to 
house participants of external programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \16\Letter from Reps. Bowman and Goldman to John King, Felix Matos 
Rodriguez, Andrew Hamilton, and the National Association of Independent 
Colleges and Universities (May 22, 2023), https://goldman.house.gov/
sites/evo-subsites/goldman.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/ny-
delegation-letter-to-universities-supporting-migrant-families.pdf; 
Johanna Alonso, Housing Migrants in College Dorms? Inside Higher Ed 
(May 30, 2023), https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/
colleges-localities/2023/05/30/housing-migrants-college-dorms.
    \17\Chris Tye, Tensions flare over plan to house migrants at 
Chicago's Wilbur Wright College, CBS News Chicago (May 23, 2023), 
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/wright-college-
migrants-meeting/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    There is, however, a history of at least one university 
system doing so. The State University of New York system 
temporarily housed refugees from Afghanistan in 2021 and 2022, 
providing significant and urgent support to those refugees.\18\ 
Additionally, there is some interest by colleges across the 
country to explore the use of their campuses for shelter as a 
low-cost, convenient option for localities. For example, the 
City College of Chicago recently announced one of their 
campuses would provide transitional housing to migrants.\19\ 
Institutional and local leaders, not the federal government, 
are well-equipped to determine whether the use of residence 
halls supports local needs regarding support for migrants, 
while balancing the needs of students.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \18\Ryan Whalen, WNY has experience placing migrants on SUNY 
campuses, Spectrum Local News (May 18, 2023), https://
spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/buffalo/politics/2023/05/18/wny-has-
experience-placing-migrants-on-suny-campuses.
    \19\Sarah Schulte, Chicago migrants out of police stations, into 
transitional housing at local colleges, ABC News Chicago (June 5, 
2023), https://abc7chicago.com/chicago-migrants-daley-college-wright-
how-to-help/13348386/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    H.R. 3941 would take these decisions away from 
institutional and local leaders and prohibit institutions who 
shelter migrants from receiving federal funding. Most 
alarmingly, this means students attending these institutions 
would not receive any federal student aid under Title IV of the 
Higher Education Act (HEA), which includes Pell Grants, Federal 
Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunities 
Grants, and Direct Loans.\20\ These aid programs are essential 
to college access for low- and middle-income students. 
According to the College Board, federal student aid accounted 
for 40 percent of total financial aid for undergraduate 
students and 65 percent for graduate students in the 2021-2022 
academic year.\21\ As a result, this bill would eliminate 
educational opportunities for many students. In addition to 
Title IV aid, institutions would be prohibited from receiving 
aid that supports Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 
Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving 
Institutions\22\ as well as aid that supports teacher 
preparation, training, and recruitment.\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \20\20 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1070a, 1070b-1070b-4, 1087-51-1087j.
    \21\College Board, Trends in Student Aid, 34-35 (2022), https://
research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/trends-in-college-pricing-student-
aid-2022.pdf.
    \22\20 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1051-1068h, 1101-1103g.
    \23\20 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 1021-1041.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Democratic Amendments Offered During Markup of H.R. 3941

    Committee Democrats put forward one amendment to H.R. 3941. 
Offered by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA-39), the amendment would have 
added language to the bill to affirm the U.S. Supreme Court's 
decision in Plyler v. Doe, which ruled that the Equal 
Protection Clause prohibits states from denying free public 
education to children based on their immigration status. 
Committee Republicans rejected the amendment.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                       Action
               Amendment                         Offered By                   Description               Taken
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#2.....................................  Mr. Takano...............  To add language to the bill to     Defeated
                                                                     affirm the decision in Plyler
                                                                     v. Doe, which ruled that the
                                                                     Equal Protection Clause
                                                                     prohibits states from denying
                                                                     free public education to
                                                                     children based on their
                                                                     immigration status.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               Conclusion

    H.R. 3941 is inflammatory, provocative, and uninformed, and 
at the end of the day, pointless. Consideration of this bill 
followed the Committee's markup of H. Res. 461, a resolution 
that ``condemns the use of the facilities of a public 
elementary or secondary school that serves students to provide 
shelter for aliens (sic) who are not admitted to the United 
States.''\24\ Both H.R. 3941 and H. Res. 461 provided the 
Majority the opportunity to discuss immigration policy, which 
is outside the jurisdiction of this Committee, and try to 
demonstrate they care about school safety despite their 
unwillingness to address the issue we know is causing school 
violence (guns).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \24\Condemning the use of elementary and secondary school 
facilities to provide shelter for aliens who are not admitted to the 
United States, H. Res. 461, 118th Cong. (2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In short, H.R. 3941 politicizes public elementary and 
secondary schools and institutions of higher education, while 
doing nothing to improve education and actively harming schools 
and students by withholding critical federal education funding. 
Instead of spending the Committee's time on meaningful 
legislation within our jurisdiction to supports student and 
schools, we frittered away our time on a vitriolic proposal.
    For the reasons stated above, Committee Democrats 
unanimously opposed H.R. 3941 when the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce considered it on June 13, 2023. We urge the 
House of Representatives to do the same.

                                   Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,
                                           Ranking Member.
                                   Joe Courtney.
                                   Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan.
                                   Suzanne Bonamici.
                                   Mark Takano.
                                   Mark DeSaulnier.
                                   Jahana Hayes.
                                   Haley M. Stevens.