Immigration Reform News 2014: Chicago Public Schools Test Under Fire for Anti-Immigration Question Allegedly Based on Sheriff Joe Arpaio
A Chicago Public Schools official has apologized to Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio after a seventh-grade performance test included an anti-immigration question based on fictitious comments from a character that resembled the controversial law enforcement agent.
Thirty-two seventh-graders took the REACH Performance tests, which measures student growth and teacher effectiveness, before the question was later removed. The question stated: "I think it's best to keep America for Americans and those who know how to speak English properly. Save America for those of us who know how to behave in law-abiding ways." It was written by a man "Arie Payo."
In addition, the text stated that undocumented immigrants should "go back to where they came from," as stated by Payo, who is identified as a former aide to "President Bush's Immigration Taskforce" and a contributor to the phony conservative publication.
According to Fox News, the question has been scratched from the analytical writing exercise section of the test. However, Arpaio is questioning why the test makers would use a character that he resembles without his consent.
"Sounds like my name," the Maricopa County sheriff told FoxNews.com. "Why didn't they have the guts to use my real name? If it is supposed to be me, why didn't they just use my name?"
In response, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett insists that the question is a coincidence and a misunderstanding, reports NewsMax.
"The 'author' of this blog post is completely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental," said CPS spokesman Joel Hood Hood.
Arpaio, who previously worked as a federal narcotics agent in Chicago, offered to visit students there to discuss the "very complex issue" of immigration.
"It's such a complex issue that even the president doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to immigration," Arpaio said. "So, what's this question about? Is it politics? Is it propaganda? I don't know, but there's so many other good programs to talk about with the kids. This is interesting."
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