American Student Punished for Refusing to Recite Mexican Pledge

American Student Punished for Refusing to Recite Mexican Pledge

Feb 27, 2013

By Todd Starnes

A Texas high school student has filed a federal lawsuit against her school and her teachers after she was punished for refusing to salute and recite the Mexican pledge of allegiance.

The Thomas More Law Center filed the suit on behalf of Brenda Brinsdon alleging the McAllen Independent School District violated the 15-year-old girl’s constitutional rights when she was forced to recite the Mexican pledge and sing the Mexican national anthem.

Click here to read the lawsuit.

Brinsdon, who is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant and an American father, refused. She believed it was un-American to pledge a loyalty oath to another country.

Ironically, the school district has a policy that prohibits a school from compelling students to recite the American Pledge of Allegiance.

The district also has a written policy that excuses students from reciting text from the Declaration of Independence if the student “as determined by the district, has a conscientious objection to the recitation.”

“There is a sad trend in public schools across our nation to undermine American patriotism,” said Richard Thompson president of the Thomas More Law Center. “But it’s encouraging to see students like Brenda stand up for America despite pressure from school officials.”

The TMLC told Fox News the district ignored its own rules when Brinsdon refused to recite the pledge of a foreign country.

What’s most troubling is the different treatment for someone wanting to opt out of reciting the American Pledge of Allegiance compared to someone as a matter of conscience wants to opt out of reciting the Mexican pledge,” spokesman Erin Mersino told Fox News.

A spokesman for the McAllen Independent School District told Fox News they had not seen a copy of the lawsuit.

The recitation of the Mexican pledge and the singing of the Mexican national anthem was part of a 2011 Spanish class assignment at Achieve Early College High School.  The teacher, Reyna Santos, required all her students to participate in the lesson.

When Brinsdon refused to back down – she was punished, the lawsuit alleges. She was given an alternative assignment on the Independence of Mexico. The teacher gave her a failing grade – and then required the student to sit in class over a period of several days to listen to other students recite the Mexican pledge.

The lawsuit states Brinsdon offered to recite the American pledge in Spanish but the teacher refused her request.

“It’s astonishing that this Texas school would deny Brenda her right of conscience and free speech not to pledge allegiance to a foreign country,” said Thompson. “Too many Americans – including those of Mexican descent – have suffered and died protecting our nation.”

And while she is fluent in Spanish and English and is proud of her Mexican heritage, Brinsdon is a “true-blooded American,” Mersino added.

Mersino said it was especially troubling to watch video of students in the class standing up, extending their arms straight out, palms down and reciting the pledge of a foreign country.

“It’s disturbing – it truly was troubling,” she said.

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of Command Center to add comments!

Join Command Center

Comments

  •  If La Raza thinks that they are the only Race then tell them they are not wanted in our Space! If you don't I would! Because I'm totally fed up to my eye balls with this S___!

  • Noah,

    I think that's called  "HomeSchooling".

    But an organized net of HomeSchooling Schools seems brilliant!

  • It would seem that is is high time for conservatives to begin forming their own private schools where the truth can again be taught to the children of America the way it was in years gone by.  In place of teaching homosexuality and other sexual sickness wood shop and home economics would be two good selections.  Perhaps real history instead of made-up liberal idiologies could also fit into the scheme of classes.

  • Now that is where the Tea Party can help. Maybe they should visit the school, teacher, principal or PTA

  • You are right Bonnie J. Wren.  Hoping to get the judges to help straighten out serious problems is like locking the fox in with the chickens to get rid of the mice.  That plane hain't uh goin' to fly.

  • Firing the teacher would be a fine start but I believe it needs to be pursued further than that.  A traitor normally receives prison time or even possible execution consequences.  Serious steps do indeed need to begin for all of the traitorous acts that are currently taking place.  The first place the clean house and remove the traitors would be in the White house with Biden and Barry.

  • Fire this teacher. This anti-American dogma being pushed in schools has got to stop. FIRE THIS TEACHER.   NOW.   AND FIRE ANYONE WHO VOTED TO ELIMINATE THE AMERICAN PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.  LET'S GET RID OF EVERY ONE OF THESE TRAITORS.

  • I am very skeptical about turning to our courts to counter the tyranny of the left. Judges, after all, are nothing but politicians using the judicial system to gain political status; who knows how many are bought and paid for! There is no question the mind-boggling level of anti-American, anti-family leftist corruption that permeates every level of the courts across America! Check out the Federal Justice Dept.'s golden boy, Eric Holder - talk about a low-life criminal who, if we actually had a justice system in this country, would be in federal prison himself! In my opinion, turning to the courts would be like entering into the enemy's camp....no thankyou! Two people who are close to me had occasion to turn to the courts seeking justice after being victimized, and ended up experiencing anything but; and through the years, I've heard and read about so many miscarriages of justice; this is why I feel so compelled to dissuade people from making the same mistake! I do not enjoy putting out messages like this - wouldn't it be great to be able to have trust in our courts? Sadly, this is rarely the case.
  • just think..this kid will be listed somewhere as an extremist, somewhere in a government file.

  • I don't know what is going on in Texas. They are letting the left wing extremist anti American educators push them around.

This reply was deleted.