An Ill dilemma    
    for  "U.S."
         
   An interdisciplinary high school webquest developed by Harvey Sullivan


                  Introduction/Questions / Task/ Process/ Resources/ Evaluation


                      Introduction

          Illegal immigration has become a complicated and problematic issue in the United States which has increasingly polarized this nation's citizenry and political process. Possible resolutions are even more polemic: for instance do we welcome all immigrants to our country with open arms, regardless of their legal status, following a broad and simple philosophy which dictates that human being is illegal ? Do we, on the other hand institute a draconian set of measures which attempt to deport all who are not in possession of legal documentation? Or do we follow a middle path seeking to blend enforcement and legalization, in which we construct a barrier to prevent further undocumented immigration and then grant citizenship to those who are already here? Besides providing a real-life cultural component for our Spanish class, these issues constitute some particularly thought provoking, pertinent and relevant civics or social studies themes about which you yourselves may or may not have strong personal opinions already, as well as posing issues which you as a citizen or a voter may play a key role in resolving!

     Questions for thought:  

  If a "path to legalization" is not approved, will illegal immigrants be permanently relegated to, in the words of  Former President George W. Bush a permanent underclass?
    
    If potential employers of undocumented immigrants are fined or otherwise punished, and jobs disappear for them, will not many of these undocumented workers simply return to their country of origin?

  Will a program of legalization be viewed as an amnesty which will simply make more illegals   flood into the United States?

   Is there a compromise solution which might please both sides somewhat and still solve the problem of illegal immigration?

  Is it really true that United States citizens will not perform jobs taken by illegal immigrants?

  If an accord is reached and a "path to legalization" is implemented, what  requirements should or must be met in order  for candidates to obtain legal status in the United States?

                                            Task:

          In this project you will assume the role of one of several different individuals who hold distinct views regarding illegal immigration; two of these will be government officials who are on opposite sides of the debate over illegal immigration and wish to "sell" their policy to the American people:
    
    A.  Senator John Mccain, former U.S. President George W. Bush, or
         Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano who favor a path to         legalization and a temporary guest worker program.

     B.  Representative Tom Tancredo who fervently opposes legalization of  undocumented aliens
          Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson who desires enforcement of the U.S. border to precede any program for migrant workers.

      The second group of participants will be lobbyists/attorneys for or against legalization - individuals whom the politicians will seek to bolster their respective cases in front of the American public:

     C.    A lawyer representing the immigrants, who make their livelihood in the United States and those in favor of granting amnesty to such illegals.

     D.  An attorney/ attorneys representing members of the Minutemen group which is fervently opposed illegal immigration.

     *** All the while , it is imperative that you must keep in mind that you must convince "John and
          Jane Q. Public, the American citizenry who may have yet to form a solid "pro" or "con" opinion on illegal immigration!
                  

             Your task includes the following:
 
A.    To attempt to present the most compelling "pro" or "con" evidence which you can
     find in order to attempt to sway the opinion of one of the individuals involved (it's a tall "order
     of business"!) and most of all, to give the politician who will construct a bill for or against
     legalization and the public who will support or oppose such legalization the support of facts.
    You must also know well the opposition and this involves trying to reach an understanding of
    why these people hold this view. Who knows - maybe your own opinion  for or against will
    evolve or change completely!
    
                                Or

B.  In absence of the ability to cause the other person/people to alter their beliefs, to reach a
      compromise on some solution to the problem.

                                           Process
        
        Each partcipant will be encharged with presenting adequate visual and lectile and oral arguments which favor his or her stance on the issue of what the U.S. Government should do about illegal immigration and illegal immigrants. Exposition of materials will consist of each distinct group of  more or less five individuals and must include, but is not limited to:

   A.  a chart or graph detailing some pertinent information which favors the viewpoint of the
       individual or individuals presenting: This visual material may consist of a bar graph or a circle
      graph format; if two people are acting as attorneys, each person must have a different graphic!
      Presentation of the visual may be in the form of an image projected onto a television or other
      form of screen, or a xeroxed copy on a handout.

   B.  A typewritten handout containing information about the participant's viewpoint written in a
       manner which may convince those who may not have formed an opinion. Presentation format
       of this part may consist of outline or paragraph form. If you are planning to present a graph on
       paper as a part of this section, it must be treated as a separate page than the handout!

    C.  The third and final component consists of  your verbal arguments: each person will be
       required to make a verbal case of his or her support of opposition of a particular viewpoint of
      resolution to the problem at hand. These statements should ideally be between fifteen and
      twenty minutes in length. Adequate verbal presentation is essential given the status and roles of the individuals  with whom we are dealing (politicians,lawyers)! Perception is  reality, as well, so you are to make those to whom you are presenting feel that you have much at stake! You must learn to sum up your ideas in a thorough yet concise manner, while still maintaining interest of the audience Furthermore, you must make use of coherent facts gleaned from some resource and not baseless opinions! Such facts should include statistics related to your particular presentation. Finally you are free to expound upon your opinion which will be shaped
     by these relevant facts!
 


                                       Resources
           Below are some websites which may prove quite useful to you in your quest for information on your topic. You are certainly not limited to these, however!

*  Senator John McCain, who is co-sponsor of legislation in the upper congressional chamber to provide a path to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States:                      http://mccain.senate.gov/
* Representative Tom Tancredo who has threatened to leave aspire to the U.S. Presidency as an Independent candidate for U.S. President in 2008 if the Republican Party does not take action  against illegal immigration:                    http://tancredo.house.gov/
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who  supports a tough stance against undocumented aliens:                          http://azgovernor.gov/
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson backs a guest worker program, but only after the border is secured:          http://hutchison.senate.gov/
The American Civil Liberties Union wishes to protect immigrant rights from what it deems to be  unlawful persecution:           http://www.aclu.org/immigrants/index.html
The immigrant Solidarity Network also works in defense of  immigrants'  rights:                        http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/
The Minuteman Project seeks to raise public awareness of U.S. Government disregard of  border Security and other issues which could be seen as needlessly facilitating  illegal immigration:                http://www.minutemanproject.com/
The Center for Immigration Studies supports placing sharp restrictions on immigration and rewarding those immigrants who come the U.S. via legal channels:                 http://www.cis.org/
The United Farm Workers, Founded by Mexican-American Cezar Chávez, back an guest worker  program:               http://www.ufw.org/_board.php?mode=view&b_code=org_key&b_no=1869&page=1&field=&key=&n=2
Questia.com has some online books which are pertinent to the issue of illegal immigration:     http://www.questia.com/library/sociology-and-anthropology/social-issues/illegal-immigration.jsp

 

   The participants representing the attorneys will be encharged with presenting convincing arguments which will work in favor of  their respective clients' cases. Meanwhile, those individuals representing John Q. Public (i.e. the class) must formulate adequate questions which are can be answered by the lawyers, so as to better construct an opinion which they believe is logical.

           
                Evaluation

      My assessment of this project will consist of the following components; below each category I have summed up what qualitative and quantitative parts which I will be seeking in your
   presentation; these component parts are not mutually exclusive, meaning that some parts may be interwoven with others such as the visual graph and the oral explanation of it.

      Inclusion and use of a visual chart or graph    30%
       a). Is graphic information pertinent and is it communicated to the viewer well?

      Inclusion of a typewritten handout                 30%
      a). Is the information on the handout discernable by its viewer?

     Presentation of oral arguments                        30%
      a).  Are oral arguments fifteen to twenty minutes in length?
      b).  Are oral arguments given in a coherent, fluid style?        
      c).  Does the presenter enertain questions appropriately

     Affective/Perception                                      10%
      a).  Do I as a potential viewer feel that the individual presenting is convinced and passionate
          about the viewpoint he or she is presenting?
       b) Was the individual  thoroughly attentive to the presentations of others and did he/she attempt to formulate a coherent question about those other presentations?