Researchers have found that about 321,000 undocumented and asylum-seeking children from Central America went to American schools from 2017 to 2019. The research was by the Rand Corporation, a nonprofit group based in California. During that same time period, the United States saw a large increase in undocumented immigrants entering the country through the southern border, mostly from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the study says. The report estimates that 491,000 of the immigrants who remained in the United States were children, meaning just 65 percent enrolled in school. About 75 percent of the 321,000 students went to school in 10 states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana. When inside the country, U.S. federal law guarantees children an education without considering their immigration status. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said he supports undocumented students’ right to a public education. That is a contrast from former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who testified to Congress that school districts should be able to decide whether to report undocumented students to immigration officials. Cardona said in an interview with Newsweek that “when there are students that are here that need to be educated, we have an obligation. Whether or not that means they have different rights, I'll leave that to others. But when it comes to education, every student should get an education when they're here.” Many states offer different levels of support to immigrants, both documented and undocumented, as well as to refugees. That can affect the quality of their education argue the Rand researchers. Some states give students more financial aid while some limit enrollment based on age. Some states give undocumented students access to lower in-state tuition to public universities, but others do not.