Student Sues Public School After He Was Suspended For Saying ‘Illegal Alien’

A student who was suspended for using the phrase “illegal aliens,” which a school official compared to “the n-word,” is now taking his school to federal court.

The non-profit public interest law firm Liberty Justice Center announced they have “filed a preliminary injunction to clear the academic record of, Christian McGhee a North Carolina high school sophomore who was accused of racism and wrongfully suspended for saying the phrase ‘illegal aliens.’”

Liberty Justice Center and the suit also allege the Davidson County school board defamed the student in a series of text messages intended to mislead the community about the facts of the case.

“The Davidson County School Board has not only invented a racial incident out of thin air, but then gone on to violate a student’s rights to free speech and due process to punish him for that invented incident. What we have here is an administration that refuses to admit its wrongdoing, and a kid caught in the crossfire,” said Buck Dougherty, Senior Counsel at the Liberty Justice Center. “We are proud to stand with Christian and his family, and urge the court to order the removal of this wrongful suspension from Christian’s record.”

Liberty Justice Center reports the incident began April 9, when Christian “raised his hand in English class to ask his teacher whether her reference to the word ‘aliens’ referred to ‘space aliens, or illegal aliens who need green cards?”

“Later that day, the school suspended Christian, alleging that his genuine question was equivalent to a vicious racial slur,” Liberty Justice Center reports.

The Liberty Justice Center is now representing Christian and his family in a federal suit against the Davidson County Board, arguing that the school board violated his right to “free speech, education, and due process.”

“In today’s filing, the Liberty Justice Center urges the court to order the school to reverse Christian’s wrongful suspension and remove it from his academic record. The filing also traces the history of the term ‘aliens’ in U.S. law, demonstrating that it traces back to laws Congress passed in 1798 concerning white European immigrants, not racial minorities,” Liberty Justice Center reports.

The motion for a preliminary injunction also releases new information about the case, including excerpts of a recording of a school administrator’s meeting with the McGhees—where the administrator equated the phrase ‘illegal alien’ to ‘the n-word,’ told Leah McGhee that it would have been ‘more respectful’ for Christian to say ‘those people that need a green card,’ and faulted Christian’s teacher for “being so young and female,’” Liberty Jutice Center reveals.

“In addition to the recording, today’s legal filing also submits as evidence a series of defamatory and misleading texts by Davidson County School Board members, which were sent to members of the community in an effort to malign Christian and his family,” the firm adds.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

Donny Ferguson

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Donny Ferguson is a professional fundraiser and organizational manager. Born and raised in Texas, he has lived in Washington, D.C. for 16 years. Ferguson also served as Senior Communications and Policy Adviser in the United States House of Representatives, operating one of Capitol Hill's most effective media operations.

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