The plight of illegal students.

Hundreds of Toronto students who are in Canada unlawfully are very much worried to go to school due to the fear that they will be deported, teachers and migration groups say.

Farrah Miranda, of No One Is Illegal said yesterday that the district school board of Toronto is not living up to its policy of not asking about migration status.

In Toronto more than 200,000 families are living unlawfully, she said, and many of them have children who are adequate for school but don’t go because they fear that they might be deported.

Two year ago the board adopted a Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy which has still to take effect, she said, adding that even children who are illegally here have right to go to school.

Miranda told the news conference that the government has failed to apply real changes on the ground. She also said that schools shouldn’t choose and select as to which children can enter the classroom based on their migration status.

If a student is in the country illegally, the policy will prevent school officials from telling police and immigration officials about the fact, she said

The elementary teachers of Toronto, Pamela Dogra said that she is very concerned about the health and safety of the children.

She said that teachers are very concerned but they do not know what the actual policy is as these policies change from school to school and thus no concrete judgment can be made about the exact policies.

Albert koehl, a Toronto lawyer said that many school officials don’t even know about the Don’t Know, Don’t Ask policy, forget about implementing it.

Koehl said that the board is too wrapped up in making a lucrative field in student visas and added that international students who are living here legally bring in more than $11,000 in tuition to cash-strapped schools.

TDSB spokesman Kelly Baker said that no one turned away from their schools and in fact 68 illegal students were accepted last year.

Roger Langen, of Ontario Secondary School Teachers Foundation, said that his union has been involved in the project for several years now and they have also prevented a number of students form being deported from Canada.

Langen said yesterday that it is extremely unfair and sad that high school students are being deported. He added that the government needs to be creating safety zones for these students and be more welcoming to people.