Days after rights advocates warned that the expected US Supreme Court ruling Roe vs. Wade portends rollbacks to many rights for people in the United States, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said he wanted to challenge a 40-year-old ruling that said states must provide free public education to all children .

“I can’t believe this needs to be said, but ALL children deserve access to a quality public education.”

In a radio interview with right-wing host Joe Pagliarulo on Wednesday night, Abbott discussed border security and agreed with the host’s claim that the children of undocumented immigrants impose a “real burden to communities” when they attend public schools, because the Plyler v. Doe decision required states to allow in 1982.

“The challenges facing our public systems [are] extraordinary,” Abbott said. “Texas sued the federal government a long time ago for having to bear the cost of the education program…And the Supreme Court ruled against us on the issue of denial , or let’s say Texas has to bear that burden. .”

“I think we’re going to resurrect this case and challenge this issue again, because the expense is extraordinary and the times are different than when Plyler v. Doe was issued decades ago,” the governor added.

the Plyler The case arose out of a 1975 decision by the state of Texas to allow school districts to deny admission or charge tuition to undocumented immigrant families. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has filed a class action lawsuit after the Tyler Independent School District charged $1,000 a year to children who failed to provide proof of US citizenship.

The case was eventually taken up by the Supreme Court and the justices ruled 5 to 4 that all children in the United States were entitled to free public education under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

Abbott’s comments came two days after a leaked US Supreme Court draft opinion showing the court’s right-wing majority voted earlier this year to strike down deera decision that would eliminate the right to abortion for millions of women in states hostile to reproductive justice.

“The leaked opinion is an invitation to all sorts of challenges to deep-rooted precedents,” said Tom Jawetz, former vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress.

Abbott’s threat to the children of undocumented immigrants, a health care advocate said, exemplifies the late comedian George Carlin’s synthesis of the anti-choice movement’s views on children’s rights.

“I can’t believe this needs to be said, but ALL children deserve access to quality public education,” mentioned Gwenn Burud, Democratic candidate for the Texas State Senate. “Unlike the other side, I understand what established precedent means.”