Immigration and EducationBy: Zuri Stocker, Heather Henslee, Melea Evans, and Elise McDonald
Past Immigration Laws Timeline 1790: Naturalization Act of 1790
Only for white people with “good” moral character Had to live in the country for two years before
becoming naturalized 1795:
Increased the year limit to five years for having to live in the country from previous law
14th Amendment: Allowed all children that were born in the US to be citizens
1870: Nationalization laws extended to African Americans
Past Immigration Laws Cont. 1850-1882: Chinese Exclusion Act
Restricted further Chinese immigration due to an increasing amount of disease
1921: Emergency Immigration Act: Created immigration quotas Led to the Immigration Act of 1924
1924: Immigration Act of 1924 Capped number of immigrants able to enter the US
based on the number of immigrants of that nationality already in the US
Immigration basically ceased during the Great Depression
Current Immigration Laws Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA)
Currently the body of law governing immigration policy
Provides for an annual worldwide limit of 675,000 permanent immigrants, with exceptions for close family members
Congress and President determine separate number of refugee admissions
Immigration to the US is based on certain principles
Principles for Immigration The reunification of families Admitting immigrants with skills that are
valuable to the US economy Protecting refugees Promoting diversity
Defining Family Unification This is an important principle governing immigration
policy Family-based immigration category allows US citizens and
lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to bring certain family members to the US
480,000 family-based visas available every year Family-based immigrants are admitted to the US either as
immediate relatives of US citizens or through family preference system. Immigrants include:
Spouses of US citizens Unmarried minor children of US citizens Parents of US citizens
Defining Immigrants with Skills More than 20 types of visas for temporary
nonimmigrant workers Include:
L visas (intercompany transfers) P visas (for athletes, entertainers, and skilled performers) R visas (religious workers) A visas (diplomatic employees) O visas (workers of extraordinary ability) H visas (variety of these for both highly-skilled and
lesser-skilled employment) Permanent employment based on a set rate of
140,000 visas per year
Defining Protecting Refugees Refugees:
Admitted to the US based on inability to return to their home
Home countries must have a “well-founded fear of persecution” Persecutions: race, social groups, political
opinions, religion, or national origin
Defining Protecting Refugees Cont.
In 2013, Obama set the worldwide refugee ceiling at 70,000
Regional allocations are in the image to the left
Defining Diversity Promotion Diversity Visa Lottery:
Creating by the Immigration Act of 1990 Dedicated channel for immigrants from countries with
low immigration rates to the US 55,000 visas are allocated randomly to nationals with
less than 50,000 immigrants to the US in the previous 5 years
Requirements for Diversity Visa Must have a high-school education (or its equivalent) Within past five years, a minimum of two years
working in a profession requiring two years of training or experience
More Current Immigration Laws
2011: Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2011(DREAM Act): Restored state option to determine residency for
purposes of higher education benefits Provides conditional legal status for certain individuals
who: Was under the age of 15 when entered the country Has been physically present in the US for at least 5 years Has earned a high-school diploma or GED A person of good moral character Is not inadmissible or deportable under criminal security
grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act Younger than 32 years of age when law enacted
More Current Immigration Laws Cont. House Bill 56 (H.B. 56):
Sparked fierce debate across Alabama A more radical law than those passed in other
states Has an impact on schools Requiring school staff to verify each student’s
immigration status during enrollment in Alabama Numbers must be reported to the state yearly Fear that parents will pull students from school Burdens educators with enforcing laws that are
not our responsibility
In-process Immigration Laws To understand the road to victory on
immigration reform and what that means for 2014, one must first understand the journey to get to this point. A national organization effort led to the
passage of the Senate immigration reform bill in June of 2013, and shifted the public narrative to the inevitability of victory- no longer a question of if, but when.
Road to Victory Electoral punch: The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and
Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Began and electoral program with a relatively small
experiment in 2002 Operated in about 10 precincts in some diverse suburban
neighborhoods in Chicago Individuals managed to organize non-partisan and
501©(4) programs in 20 different neighborhoods and suburbs
The whole idea of the vote was considered a joke at first, but with great success, “elected” individuals could not ignore the growth and power of the immigrant community
152,434 immigrant voter s have been registered by the ICIRR
Furthering the Road to Victory Individuals of the Latino community conducted
driving calls Involved shutting down Capital Hill switchboards with
calls Created national text messaging list with hundreds of
thousands subscribers Street Heats were conducted
Marches of 2006 to show that anti-immigrant insults are not going to be accepted in the immigrant community
Marches were so large, traffic was affected This community takes things to another level
(regarding legal authority) to demonstrate the disruption of deportation within their own family lives
Furthering the Road to Victory Cont. Telling stories
Leaders started “coming out” in stating that they were “undocumented and unafraid”
“Coming out” countered the fear that many leaders held, and has fundamentally changed their public lives
The Fair Immigration Reform Movement Through the Keeping Families Together campaign,
thousands of stories are told about the deportations of families involved
The movement has matured in many ways. This has allowed for more success in reform
Victory In Sight ICIRR and FIRM organizations have built
citizenship programs to help legal immigrants Thirteen million legal permanent residents in
the US Eight million of the thirteen million are eligible
to become citizens (RIGHT NOW!) In swing states like Colorado, Arizona, and
Florida with legal permanent residents, current immigrant voters, and potential naturalized citizens could mean the margin of victory
Impacts on Education and Families Public spending is deceasing Less funding in public schools Increase in enrollment in private schools Larger class sizes in the public school systems Multiple cultures in a classroom setting Teachers are expected to know and embrace the different
cultures Provides other students with a knowledge of other cultures Promotes classroom diversity Less staff support for those individuals that face language
barriers Immigrant students may be encourages to be productive
members of society provided an education
Practices to Support Immigration Students ESOL services if needed Cobb County School District: provides a number of
resources to support these students Value and build upon students’ academic, linguistic, and
cultural background Create supportive learning environments Assist students in reaching their full potential Build connections between ESOL and school wide
instructional programs Encourage participation of students and families with the
school and the community Foster understanding and appreciation of diverse
populations within the school and community
What do we do when they come to our classroom? In the end, we need to create the best
learning environment possible to support immigrant students. Remember that language proficiency does always support their academic ability. They are more than likely not “dumb” or “stupid.” These students may simply lack a knowledge of our academic content. Embrace their culture and support the family to the best of your ability. These practices will always promote support for these students.
References AZEMUN, M., & BENITO, L. (2014). A State and National
Perspective. (Cover story). Social Policy,44(1), 3-8. Education and Employment. (2014, January 1). Retrieved
September 17, 2014, from http://www.ncsl.org/research/immigration/education-and-employment.aspx
How the United States Immigration System Works: A Fact Sheet. (2014, March 1). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/how-united-states-immigration-system-works-fact-sheet
Immigration. (2014, January 1). Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/immigration
Mavisakalyan, A. (2011). Immigration, Public Education Spending, and Private Schooling. Southern Economic Journal, 78(2), 397-423.
Walker, T. (2011, August 31). Alabama Schools Worry About Effects of Immigration Law. Retrieved September 17, 2014, from http://neatoday.org/2011/08/31/alabama-schools-worry-about-effects-of-harsh-immigration-law/
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