At first this would seem like something of a surprise, but the debate team at the Bard Prison Initiative is actually really good. They’ve already beaten the University of Vermont and West Point, and now they can add Harvard to their list of victims.

The statement up for a debate was: “Public schools in the United States should have the ability to deny enrollment to undocumented students.” Inmates from Eastern New York Correctional Facility — all of which were incarcerated for violent crimes — won the day be arguing for the motion.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

Judge Mary Nugent, leading a veteran panel, said the Bard team made a strong case that the schools attended by many undocumented children were failing so badly that students were simply being warehoused. The team proposed that if “dropout factories” with overcrowded classrooms and insufficient funding could deny these children admission, then nonprofits and wealthier schools would step in and teach them better.

Ms. Nugent said the Harvard College Debating Union didn’t respond to parts of that argument, though both sides did an excellent job.

The Harvard team members said they were impressed by the prisoners’ preparation and unexpected line of argument. “They caught us off guard.”

The inmates aren’t allowed to use the internet and have to request books when they prepare for the debates, which makes the feat all the more impressive.