20 August 2019
Commissioner Angelica M. Infante-Green
Rhode Island Department of Education
255 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02903
Dear Commissioner Infante-Green:
I hope this message finds you well. I do not mean to be overly political today but recent events have brought a political question to the forefront that must be asked. Certainly, I do not expect you to answer this query in any public forum. I only hope that you set aside some time with your team to consider the possibilities.
Senior Trump Policy Advisor Stephen Miller, according to leaked documents discovered this week, has had it as a goal for the three years he has been in the job to keep undocumented kids from attending school. Yes, it is true that this has not come to pass as of yet. However, if there is one thing we have learned about the Trump Administration is that there is no bottom when it comes to policy. If Mr. Trump were to win another term, I have no doubt Mr. Miller would try to revive the idea.
That begs several questions: Does RIDE know how many undocumented kids are attending school?? Would a plan be in place to give these children an alternative way to garner the skills they need to survive in society?? Do undocumented kids in Rhode Island fit preset demographic patterns?? If this information is not already known to RIDE, wouldn’t gathering it sooner rather than later be a priority??
If it were up to me, since I started drinking at age 10 and using cocaine at age 12, I would much rather talk to you about kids and recovery. I wish we were having a discussion about how to get kids to self identify addiction issues much earlier in life. However, due to the current Administration, that is not the world in which we live. I hope you choose to approach the presented issues aggressively and successfully.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Robert T. Oliveira
315-864-1229
Quahogs United 
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