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An educated guess on Texas students in the U.S. illegally | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

An educated guess on Texas students in the U.S. illegally | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

An educated guess on Texas students in the U.S. illegally

11:31 PM CST on Saturday, December 4, 2010

By TAWNELL D. HOBBS, GARY JACOBSON and KATHERINE LEAL UNMUTH / The Dallas Morning News

In Texas, nobody asks, nobody tells, but a whole lot of people would sure like to know.

How many illegal immigrants attend the state's public schools, supported by taxpayer money?

While the answer is unknown because schools do not track students' legal status, estimates from top researchers and a Dallas Morning News analysis of little-known state data provide a range that is lower than many people might expect.

•At the lower end, researchers estimate between 125,000 and 150,000 illegal immigrants attended Texas public schools in 2009, making up 3 percent of Texas students and costing taxpayers more than $1 billion a year.

•At the top end, the analysis provides a solid ceiling. State records