Fact Check
In the spring of 2022, Snopes readers asked us to examine the context and circumstances surrounding a widely shared Facebook post purportedly written by a "California school teacher" and critical of "illegal immigration," and its supposed effects on public education in the United States.
We traced the conservative screed back to 2010, but we have not yet been able to determine its original author, and therefore we cannot yet tell whether it was, in fact, written by a "California school teacher" or an educator of any kind.
If further important evidence becomes available, we will update this fact check accordingly, but for now, our rating is "Unproven."
The Facebook post typically began "From a California school teacher," but also claimed, "I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school."
The post made several assertions, supposedly based on the author's personal professional experience, which broadly characterized "illegal immigrant" students, and their parents, as ungrateful recipients of inordinately generous government benefits, as well as destructive and disruptive.
At one point, the post asks:
Free medical, free education, free food, day care, etc, etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled not only to be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements?
We found countless examples and versions of the "California teacher" Facebook post over the past several years, including 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.
The earliest example we could find was posted to Facebook in April 2010, and included a possible clue as to the identity of its author.
At the bottom of the message was included the name and contact details of an employee of a certain California school district, with the implication being that that person was the author.
Snopes spoke by telephone with that former employee, who has since retired. She did not recall writing or even sharing the anti-immigration message more than a decade ago, did not appear to be aware that her name had been associated with early versions of the post, and did not wish to speak at length about the issue.
Although not definitive, it is worth noting that while the viral post purports to have been written by an educator at a "southern California high school," the person linked to the 2010 version of the post actually worked at a school district in northern California.
Until and unless further evidence becomes available, we cannot yet determine who wrote the message and therefore, whether the person actually is a "California school teacher" or educator of any kind.