Immigration Law -20th Century and Today: Nov 27, 29, Dec 4

by admin - November 26th, 2018

Migrants face off with American guards at the San Diego / Tijuana border, Nov 25, 2018. Source: AFP

In our next three classes we catch up with changes (and lack of changes) in US immigration and naturalization law up to the present day.

Tues, Nov 27: History of Immigration Law lecture day. Reading: Day 23, Mae Ngai’s important article “The Architecture of Race in American Immigration Law: A Re-examination of the Immigration Act of 1924.”

Also, the FINAL Soapbox contest of the semester. Presenters: Jesse, Katie, Kasey, Evan, Emmanuel, and Mireya.

Thurs, Nov 29: Since 1965. Reading: Day 24, Massey “How a 1965 immigration reform created illegal immigration.” We welcome two special guests from the Lawrence field office of US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), Field Office Director Kristen Smith and Supervisory Immigration Services Officer Corey Elya. They will help explain the complex legal and bureaucratic process towards naturalization as it is now and will have time for a Q&A to answer our many questions about the current system.

Handout: Who Does What?

Tues, Dec 4: Entry and Exit, Borders and Documents. Reading: Day 25, Vargas, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” and Kaplan, “Miami grandma targeted.” Response Paper #6 is due, see prompt.

Unit 3 Resources and Current Events We’re Following:

USCIS Homepage

“What the Armed Forces Can, Can’t, and Might Do at the Border” (West Point Modern War Institute)

“What Are the Legal Pathways for Central Americans to Enter the US?” (Lawfare Blog)

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sues DHS for record-keeping failures regarding families separated at the border (Oct 26, 2018)

Lawsuit-in-progress about Trump administration’s proclamation that asylum-seeking will be denied to anyone crossing border illegally; that policy blocked by federal judge (Nov 12, 2018)

Ongoing: Keep watching for news about the border, military deployment, asylum-seeking rules, border closings and migrant arrivals. For responsible news images of the unfolding events, see the Instagram feed of Getty photojournalist John Moore, @jbmoorephoto.

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