Immigration Webquest 


THERE ARE  15,000,000 PEOPLE THAT CAN POTENTIALLY BE DEPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES !!! 
 
Are YOU on this list?
 
 Consider the following cases: 
 
#1 An Atlanta mother of two, from Nigeria, faces deportation as a result of pleading guilty to shoplifting baby clothes worth $14.99 six years ago. 

#2 A boy adopted as an infant was deported to Thailand for writing bad checks and stealing a car.  

#3 A businessman and churchgoing citizen who has been in the US for 40 years from Panama is denied entry into the country for having attended a party where there was drugs 20 years ago.  

#4 A well regarded restaurant owner from Jamaica, sits in an INS jail because he pleaded guilty to Marijuana possession almost 20 years ago.  

#5 A Dominican man, father of four and veteran of the US Army is waiting to be deported for possessing a small quantity of Marijuana nine years ago.    

 
Task 
Resources
Process
Evaluation
Conclusion
Standards
 
 How common are stories like these in the Bronx? 

                        Do you know any one facing a similar situation? 

                                                      Could this possibly happen to you?  
  
                                                                                 Would you know what to do if this happened to you or someone you know?  
   

In this WebQuest YOU and your classmates will have a chance to answer these and other questions.  

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TASK

There are more than 1.5 million legal aliens and over half a million undocumented residents in New York. Most of these live in New York City and anyone of them can be deported. There are hundreds of thousands of Latino immigrants in the Bronx. These are not strangers. They are our neighbors, our friends, our relatives -our loved ones. In this WebQuest we will empower ourselves with knowledge. Working in teams we will:  

    1. Research  United States Immigration Policy and its impact on our community.  
    2. Develop a webpage using Netscape Composer that can be used by our local immigrant population and others interested in  immigration matters.  
Each member will have a specific role as follows:  
  • Historian : This member will research the topic and write a one page summary on the history of U.S. immigration and important laws.
  • Statistician : This member will generate tables related to immigration and population and provide a brief description of the findings.
  • Reporter :  This member will interview an immigration professional (email or offline) to determine the impact of changes in policy (e.g. the 1996 Immigration Law and the War on Terror) on the local community. This member will also identify the courses of action when facing deportation. Alternatively, an immigrant facing deportation can be interviewed.
    •
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RESOURCES

ONLINE SOURCES: 

http://immigration.about.com/newsissues/immigration/msubgreenh.htm 

http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/LatinoVid.html  

http://www.nclr.org/  

http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm

http://www.immigrationforum.org/Facts/default.htm 

http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/cbr003sp.pdf   

 

http://www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/p20-534.pdf 

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/  

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36005.html 

http://www.fedstats.gov/cgi-bin/mapstats/LinkLookup?36005 

http://www.learnthenet.com/english/section/www.html  

http://www.ecsu.ctstateu.edu/depts/dc/docs/composer/#0verview  

http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/dcp/html/census/pop2000.html

 

 



OFFLINE RESOURCES: 
    Encarta Encyclopedia 
    Local Libraries 
    Community Based Organizations (e.g. Citizens Advice Bureau in the Bronx, NY) 
    District Offices ( Congressperson, Councilperson, State Assembly and Senate) 
    Government Offices (e.g.Community Board) 
    Community and family 
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PROCESS

Step By Step :  

Group Brainstorm: In this initial session, you will meet as a group to: 

  • assign roles and responsibilities and set timelines (see template)
Historian:  
1) Your specific TASK is to write a summary of US Immigration history and policy. Some of the information you want to include is old vs. new immigration, problems faced by immigrants (e.g. nativism), important Immigration laws (National Origin, 1965 Law, Chinese Exclusion Act, 1996 Immigration Law) and the post 9-11 Immigration Policy. 

GO TO GUIDE AND DIRECTIONS 

2) Review the following websites and use the directions above to organize your information. 

http://www.immigrationforum.org/Facts/default.htm  
http://encarta.msn.com 
http://www.aclu.org/

Statistician:  
1) Your specific TASK is to create a statistical profile of the immigration and population data. It must have the numbers for the United States, your state and your city or county. The profile must compare at least two years ( for example 1990 and 2000). Some of the factors you want to include are population by race, foreign-born population, legal and illegal population, poverty rate, etc. The table(s) that you generate must show the pattern of population/immigration change in the nation, your state and county or city. The table(s) must have a written piece that analyze and interpret the data. 

GO TO GUIDE AND DIRECTIONS 

2) Review the following websites and use the directions above to organize your information. 

http://www.aila.org/ 
http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0029/twps0029.html  
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ 

Reporter:  
1)Your specific TASK is to develop a questionnaire and to identify and interview an immigration expert.Your interview must describe the existing Immigration policy(in particular Immigration Law 1996 and post 9-11 Immigration Policy), the difficulties that it creates for immigrants and tips on how to deal with immigration problems. 

GO TO GUIDE AND DIRECTIONS  

2) Review the following websites and use the guides above to organize your information. 

Group Session: 
In this session you will meet as a group to put together the parts that you have worked on individually. You will create a Webpage using Netscape Composer. The webpage should contain: 
  • Brief history of US Immigration and Laws.
  • Analysis of population and immigration trends in the nation, your state and city/county.
  • A discussion of the 1996 Immigration Law and the War on Terror and their impact on your community.
  • Advice to immigrants facing deportation and others who wish to help.
GO TO GUIDE AND DIRECTIONS 
 
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EVALUATION
For this project you will receive TWO grades. One grade is for your INDIVIDUAL WORK as the historian, statistician or reporter for your group. The second grade is for the GROUP PROJECT. Thus, your final grade will be based on the formula: 50% Individual Grade + 50% Group Grade. 

Your individual grades will based on the following criteria: 

Your project/group grade will be based on the following criteria: 
    Group Project : SeeWebpage RUBRIC

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CONCLUSION

You have completed your project and your community is enriched by your product. We must now tell someone who can help us with the current deportation policy. Your congressperson is responsible for the creation and revision of the immigration laws. You are to write an email letter to your congressperson or senator in which you : 

  • Express your concerns about the current immigration policy of deportation. 
  • Identify the impact the policy is having in your community. 
  • Suggest strongly what must be done to correct the policy. 
For help writing your letter please click here. 
For help locating and writing your representatives please click here. 

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STANDARDS
The WebQuest will address the following Standards and Objectives: 

SOCIAL STUDIES: 
Standard 1:   History of the United States and New York   
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.  

  • Compare and contrast the experiences of different groups in the United States 
  • Compare and contrast the experiences of different ethnic, national, and religious groups, including Native American Indians, in the United States, explaining their contributions to American society and culture 
Standard 5:   Civics, Citizenship, and Government   
Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.    
  • Analyze issues at the local, state, and national levels and prescribe responses that promote the public interest or general welfare, such as planning and carrying out a voter registration campaign 
  • Participate in school/classroom/community activities that focus on an issue or problem 
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS:  
Standard 1: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening 
Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding 
The competencies that 9-12 students demonstrate as they learn to read include to:  
  • Locate and use school, public, academic, and special library resources for information and research
  • Read and follow written complex directions and procedures to solve problems and accomplish task
  • Analyze and synthesize information from different sources by making connections and showing relationships to other texts, ideas, and subjects, and to the world at large
  • Interpret and evaluate data, facts, and ideas in informational texts
Writing 
The competencies that 9-12 students demonstrate as they learn to write include to:  
  • Use both primary and secondary sources of information for research 
  • Analyze and integrate data, facts, and ideas to communicate information 
  • Take notes and organize information from written and oral text, such as lectures and interviews 
  • Use charts, graphs, and diagrams to support and illustrate informational text 
  • Use the language of research such as documentation, source, paraphrase, citation, bibliography, and footnote 
Listening  
The competencies that 9-12 students demonstrate as they learn to listen include to:  
  • Listen to and follow complex directions of instructions 
  • Determine the need for more information for clarification 
  • Synthesize information from different sources by condensing, combining, or categorizing data, facts, and ideas 
Speaking  
Speaking Students Engage In, Grades 9-12, for information and Understanding:  
    Speak to share information and ideas in, for example: 
    - small or large group discussions 
    - panel discussions before a school or public audience interviews 
    - presentations and/or multimedia presentation 
To see New York State Standards click here. 
 

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