Immigration Beyond Ellis Island
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Promising Practices Immigration beyond Ellis Island Suggestions for Teaching about Immigration in the Now Kazi I. Hossain Introduction from observing student teachers teaching discussions of immigration from present “immigration” units in fifth and sixth day perspectives. “American is a land of immigrants” is grade classrooms. All of these observations probably the most common line in many of involve student teachers teaching “immi- our social studies textbooks. Immigrants Why Go beyond Ellis Island? gration” from what I see as the Ellis Island are part and parcel of American society. perspective. If one seeks to make a list of famous They are the fabric that creates the “quilt Most of these units I have observed landmarks in the U.S., Ellis Island will of the American population.” Our history have these common elements: where our probably be among the first ten. It is indeed books are abundant with stories of immi- forefathers came from; asking children in one of the most recognized landmarks in grants who contributed to the development the classroom to interview their parents or the world. It goes hand in hand with the of this country. In terms of social studies grandparents to find authentic information famous statement “America is a land of im- curriculum, all states require schools to about the their country of origin; watching migrants.” Ellis Island cannot be excluded teach about immigration. However, the a video on Ellis Island; taking a virtual when discussing the topic of immigration, question is how to teach this topic in a tour of Ellis Island called “An Interac- whether in classrooms, in social settings, manner that will give our students—el- tive Tour of Ellis Island: An Immigration or in the political arenas. ementary through high school—a better Activity” published by Scholastic; and However, the discussions that revolve understanding of this important topic. role playing the experiences the students’ around the historical role of Ellis Island For example, the presidential election parents or grandparents may have had at seldom bears any relationship to present of 2012 was significant in many ways. Ellis Island. day immigrants’ experiences. In order to Obama was the first Black president seek- These units also include books about highlight the current immigration process ing a second term. His opponent was the Ellis Island and the life of immigrants and experiences of the newly arrived im- first Mormon presidential candiate. Both here in the United States. Plans for these migrants one must go beyond the Ellis candidates need to respond to a financial units have the approval of the cooperating Island perspectives. meltdown, high unemployment, and other teachers, likely because they probably have Holistic understanding of comtempo- societal crises. Yet another significant topic taught the unit in the same manner. rary immigration issues in the U.S. must that took center stage in the presidential One thing that is glaringly missing involve discussion of current government debate was the issue of comprehensive from the above mentioned scenario is any procedures and political debates. To do immigration reform. discusssion on current immigration issues. otherwise will create misconceptions and This discussion became more heated Observing the student teachers teaching misunderstandings. If the current im- with the passage of Arizona’s controver- these units on immigration creates the migration process and experiences are sial immigration law S. B 1070 in 2010. impression that “immigration” happened not addressed, students at all levels will America’s concern about immigration goes only in the past and thus is considered an continues to maintain “Myths About Im- in cycles, gaining momenturm mostly in historical event. migration” (Costello, 2011). election years, as was the case in 2012. To verify if this teaching senario is Some of the most prevalent myths My expertize on this topic comes in only taking place in fifth and sixth grade identified by Costello include: part from my own experiences as an im- classrooms, I asked my student in a migrant who came to the United States Most immigrants are here illegally. multicultiral education course at a state as a graduate student some 24 years ago. university campus about their experiences Today’s immigrants don’t want to blend My understanding of how this topic is be- in and become Americanized. in learning about immigration. In every ing taught in our school classrooms comes semester for the last 12 years, nine out of Immigrants take good jobs from Ameri- ten students indicated that they learned cans. Kazi I. Hossain is an assistant professor about immigration—both at the middle Undocumented immigrants don’t pay and coordinator for the post-baccalaureate and high school levels—through the Ellis taxes but still get benefits. and M.Ed. programs in elementary education Island perspectives without any discussion of current events related to immigration. Anyone who enters the country illegally in the Department of Early, Middle, is a criminal. and Exceptional Education Very few of my college students indi- at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, cated that their teachers at the middle and It is the responsibilty of the teachers to Millersville, Pennsylvania. high school levels has ever entertained any debunk these myths in order to allow our MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 56 Promising Practices students to have a better understanding of However, the present day immigration urging Congress to increase the number of current immigrants and the contemporary processes are much more complex, time H1-B visas, particularly to meet the need immigration process. Teachers need to consuming, and costly. The complexity of in the field of science and technology. To compare the past immigrants’ experiences this process is rightly stated by Vargas this effect, MicroSoft’s Bill Gates in 2008 through Ellis Island with the immigrants’ (2012): “The road to citizenship can go on urged Congress to do just that in testimony experiences of today. months—or decades.” The following section to the House Committee on Science and However, before this comparison can offers background on current immigration Technology (New York Times, 2008). take place in a classroom, teachers must and citizenship processes. Immigrants under this category can have some solid knowledge about current later apply for “Green Card” or “Permanent immigration processes. The intent of this Pathways to Legal Immigration Resident” status, which could then lead article is to provide background informa- them to citizenship in a manner similar tion and resources for teachers to teach Teachers addressing immigration in to the people who arrive through “Fam- about immigration through current per- today’s middle and high school classrooms ily Sponsorship.” However, to apply for a spectives. need to understand and teach about the “Green Card” from an H1-B visa an ap- structure and procedures of the curent plicant must pay fees of $1650 or more. Legal vs Illegal Immigrants system. Following are some basics for It is important to note that foreign stu- beginning that conversation. dents who earn either an undergraduate or We are all familiar with the term “Il- Today, legal immigrants can come to a graduate degree from U.S. universities or legal Immigrants” due, at least in part, the United States in many different ways colleges are also required to apply for an to the last presidential election. These and can enter the country through any H1-B visa if they choose to work while in immigrants are defined as the individu- major city by air travel as well as by land— America. Hiring organizations must apply als who came to the U.S. without proper crossing the U.S.-Mexico or U.S.-Canadian for an H1-B visa on behalf of the student. documentation and the majority of them borders. The four major legal approaches to In addition, the hiring organization must came through the southern boder from immigration are: family sponsorship, em- prove to the USCIS that the candidates Mexico in the middle of the night to avoid ployer request, refugee and asylum status, they select were the best qualified indi- U.S. Custom and Immigration Service and DV lottery ( Gollnick & Chinn, 2013). viduals among all the applicants—both (USCIS) officials. U.S. citizens and non-citizens. These illegal immigrants are in our Family Sponsorship conversations through news reports, Any U.S. citizen can sponsor their Refugees & Asylum articles, talk radio shows, and even from immediate family members from their the chambers of the U.S. Congress. Unfor- In various parts of the world people country of orgin. To complete this process get displaced due to civil war or war with tunately, most of these conversations are can take anywhere between three months negative, including such phrases as: another country. These displaced people to about ten years. This type of immigrant typically take shelter at refugee camps. they are taking our jobs, comes to the U.S. as a “Permanent Resi- Examples of conflicts from which refugees dent” or “Green Card” holder. The applicant . .they drive our labor wages low since have fled include Afganistan, Iraq, Syria, must pay $420 for each person being spon- the Bulkan War in the 1990s, and civil they are willing to work less than the sored (USCIS, 2013). They are eligible to minimum wage, wars in Liberia and Somalia. According to apply for U.S. citizenship after completing USCIS (2013) these refugess and asylees . they come to use our welfare system, five years as a “Permanent Resident.” are defined as, “… people who have been get free education for their children, persecuted or fear they will be persecuted . their presence has increased the crime Employer Request on account of race, religion, nationality, rate, etc. U.S. companies and various other and/or membership in a particular social The list goes on.