‘That’s Ultra-MAGA Right There!’ Psaki Rips Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Plan to Go After Public School for Immigrants

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki ripped Texas Governor Greg Abbott over his plan to challenge the right of undocumented immigrants to a free public education, saying “That’s ultra-MAGA right there!”

On the heels of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade if it takes effect, Gov. Abbott has said he would consider challenging the 1982 Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which made it illegal to restrict educational funding on the basis of immigration status.

At Thursday’s press briefing, Psaki was asked about Abbott’s comments, and responded by ripping the remarks, and then ticking through a list of rights that could be challenged if Roe falls to include contraception, marriage, sex stuff, and more:

Q Hi, Jen. In the wake of the draft Supreme Court decision —

MS. PSAKI: Yeah.

Q — Texas Governor Abbott indicated that Texas may seek to overturn the 1982 Supreme Court decision that found that states were required to offer free public education to all students, including the children of undocumented immigrants. Does the White House have any response to those comments from
Abbott?

MS. PSAKI: Well, that’s ultra MAGA right there, as the President talked about yesterday. We’re talking about — I think, just to restate that — denying public education to kids, including immigrants to this country. I mean, that is not the main — a mainstream point of view.

What I will tell you is the President has looked at and reviewed — since you referenced the draft opinion, and he’s talked about this a little bit, but just to re- — build this out a little bit more for you. He’s talked about how it raised the alarms for him how and the draft decision would endanger other American rights, in addition to the basic right of every woman to keep her personal healthcare decisions between herself and her doctor.

Obviously, there are decisions like that out — way out of the mainstream that Governor Abbott has announced. But it’s also — if you look at Roe, Roe is the precedent. Right? It’s the precedent for the right to privacy. And that — and that has — that decision has been upheld numerous times since, and everybody doesn’t make the connections between what Roe has been the basis of.

So let me just spell it out for you, and this is what’s on the mind of the President: The right to privacy has been the basis for other landmark decisions that safeguard our basic rights as Americans, including who we choose to marry, with whom to have romantic relationships, and whether to use contraception.

For example: I mentioned Griswold vs. Connecticut yesterday; Eisenstadt vs. Baird, which ensured that the right to use contraception was protected; Obergefell vs. Hodges, which protects the right to marry; Lawrence vs. Texas, which stopped government from preventing sexual relationships between consenting adults.

This — the basis for the draft decision would cut against decades of precedent and throw millions of lives into turmoil. And when he talks about this — and when he talks about privacy and when he goes back and talks about the fight against Bork, he’s talking about this as a precedent for a lot of these decisions that have enormous impacts on people’s lives.

Watch above via The White House and Reuters.