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Team 2

Warm-up Question 1

What is the “Postville Raid?”

Warm-up Answer 1

• It was the biggest immigration raid in US history. It happened in 2008 in Postville, IA. A kosher meat-packing plant named Agriprocessors was raided and close to 400 illegal immigrants from Guatemala were arrested for their illegal status and document fraud. Several Jewish top managers were sentenced to prison for harboring illegal immigrants.

Warm-up Question 2

• What is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)?

Warm-up Answer 2

• It is the federal agency responsible for tracking, detaining, and deporting illegal immigrants within the borders of the USA.

• Their work is most visible to the public during large raids (like that a Postville, IA).

Warm-up Question 3

• What is the US Border Patrol? Why was it originally founded?

Warm-up Answer 3

• It is the federal task force that is responsible for coordinating state efforts to police the US-Mexico Border.

• It was founded after World War I to prevent Mexicans from crossing the border and taking the jobs needed servicemen returning from WWI.

Warm-up Question 4

• What was the Bracero Program?

Warm-up Answer 4

• It was guest-worker program which brought in low-wage laborers during WWII, in order to insure no disruptions to the nation’s food supply due to worker shortages. Most Braceros worked in the fields of the Southwest as migrant workers. Farmers recruited large numbers of workers illegally because the Bracero program could not fill the shortages.

Question 1

What was Operation Wetback?

Answer 1

It was the first major initiative undertaken by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). It rounded up close to 1 million illegal immigrants during the 1950s and reprocessed them a legal migrant workers under the Bracero Program.

Question 2

• What is the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)?

Answer 2

• This agency has overlapping responsibilities with ICE, as far as immigration enforcement goes. However, it also responsible for running guest-work programs and processing work visas, etc. It also helps immigrants seeking US citizenship.

Question 3

• What is a push factor?

Answer 3

• A factor that “pushes” emigrant out of their country of origin.

Question 4

• What is a “pull factor?”

Answer 4

• A factor that “pulls” an immigrant into a new country.

Question 5• Identify at least two “Push Factors” that might lead

someone from Mexico to the USA

Answer 5

possible responses• - poverty• - lack of religious freedom• - corrupt governments• - lack of opportunity• - poor education• - lack of religious freedom• - civil strife• - lack of medical care• - natural disasters

Question 6

• Identify at least two “Pull Factors” that might lead someone from Mexico to immigrate to the USA.

Answer 6

possible responses• - opportunity• - religious freedom or freedom in general• - higher standard of living• - jobs• - lower cost of living• - medical care / medicine• - safety/protection• - fair or just government

Question 7

• What is the DREAM Act?

Answer 7

• It is a proposed bill (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), that proposes a path to citizenship for children of illegal immigrants that grew up in the USA and are culturally American.

• This path to citizenship usually includes:• Background check• Graduate from High School/GED• Graduate from college or tour of duty in military• This law has not passed at a national level, but

California has enacted its own version

Question 8

• What is Arizona State Law SB1070 ? How might it lead to racial profiling?

Answer 8

• This a controversial law that Arizona passed in response to the lack of federal enforcement of immigration laws in the border states.

• It allows officers to request immigration papers, proof if residency, or official identification if they have “reasonable suspicion” that immigration laws are being broken given a “totality of the circumstances.”

• It is controversial because many opponents believe it will lead to racial profiling by allowing officers to check for papers of people who “look like illegal immigrants.”

Question 9

• What is Racial Profiling?

Answer 9

• This means an officer of the law conducts a search or seizure based only on the race of the suspect.

Question 10

• What is “reasonable suspicion?”

Answer 10

• Reasonable suspicion means that it is reasonable to believe that some sort of crime may be in the process of being committed, so further investigation is permitted.

Question 11

• What does “totality of the circumstances” mean?

Answer 11

That means that an officer may take into account all of the information generally known in order to determine if they have “reasonable suspicion” to investigate a crime.Example: A officer pulls over a van packed with young men. Illegal immigrant smugglers are known to smuggle using vans. There have been several arrests for this very thing in the neighborhood that the van was pulled over in. Taking into account all of the information generally known, this situation fits a criminal pattern. Therefore, there is reasonable suspicion to investigate.

Question 12

• Right now, Mexico has 1/3 the population of the US. However, it has a much high growth rate.– How might it be affecting Mexico now?– How might it be affecting the USA now?– How might this effect the USA in the future?

Answer 12

– How might it be affecting Mexico now?• Mexico will have huge population pressures and will have a hard

time supporting all of its workers.

– How might it be affecting the USA now?• This will make it tempting for Mexicans to migrate to the USA in

search of jobs.

– How might this effect the USA in the future?• In the next several decades “people of color” may be

the majority and whites the minority. This will likely bring a change in politics, as well as family and cultural values.

Question 13

• What was the result of the Mexican-American War? How did this set the tone for future relations between Mexico & the USA?

Answer 13

• The USA invaded Mexico and seized over half of its territory, including most of the present day Southwest United States.

• This has meant that tensions between the USA and Mexico have always been very tense. There was almost another border war around WWI.

Question 14

• Explain the difference between “migrant,” “immigrant,” and “emigrant.”

Answer 14

• A “migrant” is someone who moves from one place to another.

• A “immigrant” is someone who comes in to a country.

• A “emigrant” is someone who leaves country.• It is possible to be all three at once.• I=in• E=exit

Question 15

• What are “coyotes?” How do “coyotes” help illegal immigrants cross the USA-Mexico border?

Answer 15

• These are guides that are hired by illegal immigrants from Mexico that specialize in smuggling immigrants across the US-Mexico border.

• They help immigrants get across the border by all kinds of means.– False papers– Smuggling in vehicles and trains– Transporting through the desert, etc.

Question 16

• Explain how illegal immigrants can be a burden on public services.

Answer 16

• Examples:• They cannot afford medical treatment, but ER’s have to

treat them anyway. Illegal immigrants have a higher rate of traumatic wounds which are more expensive to treat

• They are educated in public schools and require expensive services, such as ESL and special ed.

• They create a strain on food pantries, shelters, and local charities.

• Violent criminals are housed at public expense.

Question 17

• Explain how illegal immigrants can take away jobs from US citizens.

Answer 17

• Illegal immigrants are often willing to work for lower wages than United States citizens with the same skill set.

• Therefore, Illegal immigrants can often undercut US workers, and are a desirable hire for many employers.

Question 18

• Explain what the DREAM Act is and what some of the pros and cons are.

Answer 18• Pros:• Children cannot help that they are born here. They are

culturally American, they are given a chance to join their culture.

• Gives children of illegal immigrants a productive way to give back to the economy

• Cons:• Creates competition within US colleges for scholarships,

money, and positions• Educates a workforce that US workers have to then compete

with

Question 19

• A woman walks down the street holding her arm and appears to be in pain. A sheriff’s deputy stops her and asks if she needs help. She looks at him and says in broken English that she is all right. The officer detains her to check her immigration status.

• Does the officer have “reasonable cause” to ask for her immigration paper?

Answer 19

• Answers vary. Must back up your explanation with sound reasoning. Discuss “reasonable suspicion” and “totality of circumstances.”

Question 20

• Police are making random vehicle inspection stops. A pickup truck is stopped and the driver is wearing work clothes and boots. The driver tells officers that he is late for work as a gardener in an affluent residential neighborhood. Police know that many gardeners in this neighborhood are unauthorized immigrants. They detain the man to check his immigration status.

• Does the officer have “reasonable cause” to ask for immigration papers?

Answer 20

• Answers vary. Must back up your explanation with sound reasoning. Discuss “reasonable suspicion” and “totality of circumstances.”

Question 21

• What is the irony in this political cartoon? How can this be applied to many people’s views on the current immigration debate?

Question

• What is the irony in this political cartoon?• Make a connection to at least one thing we have studied

in this unit.

Question

• Be able to explain one way illegal immigrants pay taxes and one way they avoid paying taxes.

Answer• Paying taxes:• Most illegal immigrants still pay sales taxes and excise taxes

(gas, cigarettes, groceries)• They also pay local property taxes on their houses.• If they have false documentation, they probably pay income

tax, payroll tax, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, because employers deduct these from each paycheck

• Not paying taxes:• Many do not pay income tax, because they have real

identifications.• Many get paid under –the-table and don’t pay taxes on this

income.

Question

• What effects are Mexico’s Drug Wars having on innocent citizens in Mexico?

Answer

• Since Mexico declared war on the drug cartels in 2006, over 50,000 civilians have been killed in the violence. Murder rates in cities along the border have skyrocketed to astronomical levels. More people were killed in Ciudad Juarez than all of Afghanistan in 2010. The murders have also become increasingly brutal, often times involving torture or desecration of the body.

Question

• How is Mexico’s drug trade fueling the arms trade from the US?

Answer

• There is a strict ban on weapons in Mexico and gun laws are very lenient in US border states.

• This creates an easy supply of guns for the Mexican black market, which is controlled by the Mexican drug cartels.

• The high stakes nature of the drug trade in Mexico created by the huge US demand for drugs, creates a climate were lots of guns are need to beat your competitors in supplying the drugs.

Question

• What are the pros and cons of giving undocumented workers a path to gain citizenship?

AnswerPro: Undocumented workers already in the United States would be given a work permit. On showing that they have no criminal record and after a period of years, they would be given the opportunity to get permanent resident status and eventually citizenship. Supporters say that these people have entered without authorization mainly because our immigration system is broken. They argue that these workers should get a chance to earn citizenship.

Con: Opponents argue that granting an amnesty has been tried before and only encourages more unauthorized immigration. They argue that it would reward unauthorized immigrants who leapfrogged over others waiting to get proper authorization to enter the country.

Question

• What are the pros and cons of intercepting unauthorized immigrants at the border?

AnswerPro: This would entail further beefing up the Border Patrol and perhaps even calling on National Guard troops to help out. The Border Patrol has already done a better job by concentrating its forces on high-frequency crossing points, such as the 13-mile border near San Diego. Lights, fences, and automobile barriers have been built along this stretch.Con: Opponents of interception argue that it would take a small fortune to seal the border, because people will always find a way to cross it. They point out that one effect of tightened borders is that today more undocumented workers stay in the United States instead of going back and forth across the border.

Question

• What are the pros and cons of stopping employers from hiring undocumented immigrants?

Answer

Pro: This would entail stiffening punishments on employers, particularly offenders. Assets from a business could be forfeited to the government. Some current federal policies being proposed urge the creation of a mandatory standard for fraud-resistant identification cards for every person authorized to work in the United States or an electronic database listing all eligible workers.

Con: Opponents argue that punishing employers would hurt business and start making employers reluctant to hire minorities. An identity card or database, they believe, would violate the privacy rights of individuals.

Question

• What are the pros and cons of stopping government services to unauthorized immigrants?

AnswerPro: This would entail passing laws requiring public schools, hospitals, and welfare offices to require proof of citizenship or legal residency before permitting persons to use non-emergency public services. Supporters believe that this would relieve taxpayers from paying for services for undocumented immigrants.

Con: Opponents argue that this would do nothing to stop unauthorized immigration, that it would send children into the streets and leave dangerous diseases undiagnosed, and that the Supreme Court has declared such laws unconstitutional in Plyler v. Doe (1982).

Question

• What are the pros and cons of creating a guest-worker program?

AnswerPros: This would allow a limited number of Mexican nationals to enter the country legally and work in jobs that U.S. workers are reluctant to take, such as farm work. The country did allow guest workers from Mexico (called braceros) from World War II until 1964. Supporters believe that it will be easier to enforce immigration laws and also protect immigrant workers if we have a legal procedure for letting in temporary workers and give them the full protection of U.S. laws.

Cons: Opponents say that the bracero program led to more unauthorized immigration and greater exploitation of Mexican guest workers.

Question

• What are the pros and cons of expanding the number of legal immigrants to fit the existing job market?

Answer

Pro: The number of legal immigrants would be increased or decreased each year depending on the job market. Supporters note that people enter the United States without authorization because there are many job opportunities, and there are not enough immigrants entering with authorization to fill these jobs.Con: Opponents argue that there are too many Americans without jobs and that employers are just trying to get cheap labor.

Question

• What are the pros and cons of streamlining the legal immigration process?

Answer

Pro: The government would work to streamline the current system, which is clogged with requests to work in the United States or to join family members already in the United States. Supporters note that many people enter without authorization because the current system is so backlogged.

Con: Opponents point out that since the attacks of September 11, 2001, our borders need greater security and immigration officials should carefully check everyone entering the country.

Question

• What are the pros and cons of aiding Mexico?

AnswerPro: Others who have studied the unauthorized immigration situation believe that something should be done to eliminate the basic cause of the problem—the poor economic conditions in Mexico. These experts propose that the United States substantially increase economic aid to Mexico, enabling it to put more of its own people to work at better wages. They also support increased trade with Mexico, to which they hope the North American Free Trade Agreement will be a contributing factor.

Con: Some opponents of assisting Mexico believe that aid money seldom works, and others think it would take more money than America can afford and too much time before it would affect the problem.