(WINSTON-SALEM) -- A Forsyth County lawmaker says schools should be required to keep track of the illegal immigrants in their student populations. Rep. Dale Folwell has introduced a bill to require school principals to record the citizenship and immigration status of new students at North Carolina schools.

"Illegal immigation is the largest unfunded mandate that has been flushed from the federal government down to the taxpayers of this state.  When it gets there it has bus one place to go and that is spread among the property taxpayers of those communities who pay for public schools," said Folwell.

He stressed that the measure would require the collection of immigration status information in public schools for fiscal research purposes only.  Folwell said it would not be used to deny entry into the system.

The bill was up for discussion at the legislature on Tuesday, where advocates and members of the public criticized the proposal. They said it will deter immigrant parents from enrolling their children in school. The state American Civil Liberties Union chapter said the bill may violate federal law.

(Thanks to: WSJS)