Texas Principal Who Allegedly Said 'Illegal Aliens' Would Make U.S. 'Dirty Country' Placed on Leave

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Lufkin Middle School in Lufkin, Texas. Eighth grade principal William Dugat was placed on paid leave last Friday for writing a racially insensitive comment on Facebook about undocumented immigrants. Screenshot/Google Maps

A Texas middle school principal was placed on administrative leave after posting that he worried "illegal aliens" were being welcomed into the United States.

On Thursday, a woman posted a photo of herself with Democratic Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke on Facebook. William Dugat, Lufkin Middle School's eighth-grade principal in Lufkin, Texas, where O'Rourke had made a campaign stop, wrote under the woman's post that he was worried the U.S. would look "like Mexico and South America" for allowing "illegal aliens" into the U.S, the Lufkin Daily News reported.

"I worry about the USA looking like Mexico and South America with so many illegal aliens being welcomed to our country. Guess we are doomed to have a dirty country either way," he posted, according to the Lufkin Daily News.

In a statement to Newsweek, Lufkin Independent School Unified District spokeswoman Sheila Adams said the district had been made aware of Dugat's comment on Friday. He has been placed on paid administrative leave while the school district investigated the incident.

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Lufkin Middle School in Lufkin, Texas. Eighth grade principal William Dugat has been placed on leave on Friday for allegedly writing a racially insensitive comment on Facebook about undocumented immigrants. Screenshot/Google Maps

"We were made aware of the post on Friday. We do not support or condone his actions or comments," Adams wrote in an emailed statement to Newsweek. "He was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of the incident."

A similar incident occurred in Houston earlier this month after a teacher was fired for her racist rant at a Hispanic couple following a fender bender. In a video obtained by the Houston Chronicle, Tiffany Scott, 27, could be heard yelling racially insensitive remarks at the couple following the minor car accident. She could be heard telling the Hispanic couple that they "swam here with the rest of your family" as she complained about being a teacher who had to "teach their dumb asses," referring to their children.

Scott, a former teacher at KIPP Voyage in Houston, apologized to the couple for her remarks but claimed that they also made derogatory remarks to her, which caused her to lash out, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"They asked me if I swam from Africa to Houston," Scott previously told the Chronicle. "My intention was never to bring any other race down, so I want to go ahead and apologize for that."

A spokesperson for KIPP Texas Public Schools had previously confirmed to Newsweek that Scott had been terminated because the comments she made did not align with the school's values.

"We immediately made the decision to terminate the employee. She no longer works for KIPP Texas Public Schools. We acknowledge the many social media supporters who shared their concerns," the statement from Daniel Caesar, regional superintendent of KIPP Texas Public Schools, read. "We value each and every student and family that is a part of the KIPP network, and we do not tolerate discriminatory remarks of any kind."

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Maria Perez is a breaking news reporter for Newsweek. She has an M.A in Urban Reporting from the CUNY Graduate School ... Read more

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