CHAPTER 21
Immigration and Justice
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
2. Summarize the history of immigration in the United States.
4. Describe the immigration justice system.
5. Identify key issues in immigration justice.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Illegal Immigration
Learning Objective 1: Define the nature of illegal immigration and describe the extent of the
problem.
A. It is against the law to be in the United States without some legal basis or
documentation—that is, citizenship, green card, or visa. People who are here without
such documentation are “illegal aliens.”
1. Undocumented resident or undocumented immigrant: a foreigner who resides
3. Immigration enforcement has become a polarizing political issue for several
reasons, heightened by the campaign and eventual election of Donald J. Trump.
a. Candidate Trump infamously said of Mexicans who had illegally come
to America that “They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, [and]
rapists.”
b. One of President Trump’s first executive actions as president was to try
to prohibit the entry of people from certain nations.
What If Scenario
What if you were an illegal immigrant living in the United States? How would you live your
life? What do you think it would be like to live “in the shadows”?
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students speak with or interview an illegal immigrant in their local community. Have
students write a research paper on this and give a presentation to the class.
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B. Immigration History
Learning Objective 2: Summarize the history of immigration in the United States.
1. About 1 percent of the U.S. population is Native American. The remaining
99 percent is made up of immigrants.
3. The national regulation of immigration began with the Immigration Act of
4. Between 1815 and 1915, 30 million Europeans arrived in the United States and
were received with broad official approval.
5. In the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, people from China were specifically
6. Hostility to specific immigrant groups has been a hallmark of U.S. immigration
history. Among the false stereotypes and ridicule were:
7. War has also played a role in the U.S. attitude toward immigrants.
a. Germans, Eastern Europeans, and Jews faced distrust during the World
Wars.
b. Mexicans were readily attacked during the Mexican-American War.
c. Native Americans were slaughtered during the westward expansion.
Media Tool
Visit https://www.nbcnews.com/video/we-thought-we-were-americans-a-look-back-on-asian-
american-internment-camps-570132035881
o Chinese Internment Camps During World War II
o Discuss this in class. Ask students if they were aware of this dark episode in U.S. history
before coming across it here. What do they think would have been a better response to
the concerns of the 1940s? Do they feel that there is an appropriate way to atone for this
wrong the United States committed?
C. Types of Immigrants Under the Law
Learning Objective 2: Define the different types of immigration under the law.
1. After World War I, with the passage of the Emergency Quota Act, immigration
2. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 altered the policy by creating
preferred immigration categories for relatives of current residents, those with
3. Green card
a. People residing in the country on regular visas may be eligible to
4. Refugees
5. Asylees
6. There are other ways to receive a green card.
7. Temporary protected status
9. In 2014, 1.7 million people were residing in the United States on temporary
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students conduct research on immigration law and what it means to be an attorney who
specializes in immigration law. Then have students contact an immigration attorney for a brief
interview for which they create the questions. Oversee a classroom discussion on their findings.
Media Tool
Visit http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-fg-na-green-card-qa-20170802-htmlstory.html
o Green cards
o Discuss this in class. What do students feel green cards do for those coming to the United
States? Given the recent climate, do they feel that green cards and the obtaining of green
cards is now “under attack”? If so, do they agree with this? Why or why not?
II. The Immigration Justice System
Learning Objective 4: Describe the immigration justice system.
A. The task of enforcing immigration laws falls partly on the federal government and
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© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or
in part.
established specialist agencies whose sole responsibility is enforcement of immigration
law. The immigration justice system (IJS) is devoted to issues arising from immigration
law.
B. Policing
1. The police function of the IJS is performed by two agencies:
2. Neither ICE nor CBP works in isolation; they must cooperate with each other
C. Courts
1. Located within the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is the Executive Office
for Immigration Review (EOIR).
a. The EOIR was created in 1983.
D. Corrections
1. There are three corrections systems that undocumented immigrants may
encounter:
2. Accurate figures for the number of undocumented immigrants in jails and
prisons do not exist; however, it is estimated that there are in excess of 25,000
people in federal prisons and many more than that in state prisons.
Media Tool
Visit http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/11/politics/trump-administration-deportations/index.html
o U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
o Discuss this video in class. What are some of the challenges an administration may face
in both creating and implementing policies on immigration and deportation? Does an
illegal immigrant’s status as criminal vs. noncriminal seem to impact how quickly they
are deported?
Chapter 21: Immigration and Justice
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Class Discussion/Activity
Have students conduct research on how the various U.S. agencies (ICE, CBP, DEA, FBI, etc.)
work together on immigration issues. Hold a class discussion about their findings.
What If Scenario
What if you were a CBP agent working on the border of the United States and Mexico, and a
desperate Mexican family with two young children attempted to illegally cross the border on
your watch. Upon being caught by you, the parents begged to cross the border, saying that they
simply wanted to provide a better life for their children. How would you react? Why? Would this
part of your job be difficult or easy? Why?
See Assignments 1 and 3
III. Issues in Immigration Justice
Learning Objective 5: Identify key issues in immigration justice.
A. Politically, immigration is a heated topic.
2. The flip side of that is that immigrant labor depresses wages and takes jobs
from people who already live here.
B. Immigration and Crime
1. In March 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order creating
2. What is the connection between immigration and crime?
a. There is plenty of research evidence to suggest that immigrants engage
in crime at a lower rate than nonimmigrants.
C. Immigration and Terrorism
1. Because of continuing threats of international terrorism, the relationship
between immigration and terrorism is a potential public safety issue.
2. After taking office, President Trump signed executive orders temporarily
suspending immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries.
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3. In response to the ratcheting up of immigration enforcement by the DHS, some
cities with a large number of undocumented residents have designated themselves
sanctuary cities.
Media Tool
Visit http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/sanctuary-cities-explained/index.html
o Sanctuary Cities
o Discuss this in class. Have students discuss sanctuary cities. What do they feel their
intended purpose is? Given the administration’s view on these cities, do students feel as
though the local leaders have the right to abstain from following federal guidelines? Why
or why not?
What If Scenario
What if you were a mayor of a major city whose residents overwhelmingly approved of the city
becoming a sanctuary city? In your next address to the citizens of your city, what would you say
to them? What, ultimately, would your decision be, and why?
See Assignments 3 and 4
D. Children and Families of Undocumented Immigrants
2. In 2012, the White House started a program named Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which enables children who have been mostly
3. On the other hand, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful
4. A clear lack of a political consensus has left several millions of people in
limbo.
E. Cooperation with Local Justice Authorities
1. Arrests by ICE were up by one-third in 2017, and the number of immigration
detentions for people without criminal records has doubled.
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3. Some localities have responded positively to ICE’s more aggressive pursuits of
4. Evidence tells us that many of the policies we have enacted in recent years to
deal with immigration as a criminal justice issue are either shortsighted, self-
defeating, or misdirected.
Class Discussion/Activity
Break students into two groups: one in favor of DACA and the other opposed. Allow for an open
debate in class between the two groups.
What If Scenario
What if you were asked to come up with a solution to DACA that appeased both sides? What
types of changes do you think would make sense?
See Assignment 4
LECTURE NOTES
To introduce “immigration,” it is useful to first paint a picture of what, exactly, legal
immigration is and what illegal immigration is. Detailing the differences between the two is
crucial. Chapter 21 begins by defining the latter. And, in doing so, it provides recent statistics as
well as a brief overview of the current political landscape on the matter. It is important that
students can differentiate between the two and that they also appreciate what the political climate
Within the broad “immigrant” definition are various types of both legal and illegal immigrants.
This may be confusing to students, as they’ve likely heard little else over the past few years than
“illegal immigrant,” without any subtext or clarification. It may be constructive to illuminate
The authors then turn to the immigration justice system. Students should be familiar with each
specialist agency involved with immigration justice. Have students discuss or debate which of
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the major functions (policing, courts, or corrections) they feel is more important to and more
influential in how immigration in the United States works.
There are many and varied issues in immigration justice in the United States today. The authors
discuss immigration and crime, immigration and terrorism, children and families of
undocumented immigrants, and cooperation with local justice authorities. Review each of these
with students. Ask students if they think there are compelling links between immigrations and
crime in general and/or immigration and terrorism. Ask them what benefit, if any, undocumented
immigrants bring to the United States. And, finally, ask students what they think of the DACA
program initiated by the Obama administration in 2012. Would they keep this program going?
Would they end it? Why?
Begin a conversation as to the likely immigration landscape of the future. What do students
imagine the future holds for immigrants, both those who are here already and those who wish to
come?
KEY TERMS
Asylee
A person allowed to reside in the United States after leaving a troubled and/or dangerous
country.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA)
A law that allows certain parents of Americans or lawful permanent residents (green card
holders) to obtain permission to work and to stay in the United States for three years.
Green card
A permit allowing a foreign national to live and work permanently in the United States.
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
Refugee
A person who has been forced to leave his or her country in order to escape war, persecution, or
natural disaster.
Sanctuary city
A city that limits its cooperation with the national government effort to enforce immigration law.
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ASSIGNMENTS
1. Assign students to watch the 2014 film Frontera, the story of a former Arizona sheriff
whose wife is killed by a Mexican man who appears to be illegally crossing into the
United States. Have students give feedback about the movie. What does the storyline
seek to do? What did students learn from watching the film? Lead a class discussion of
2. Assign to each student a different nation from which immigrants to the United States
came. Have students research the history of that nation’s immigrants. Lead a class
discussion of immigration with comparisons and contrasts among the varied groups of
3. Provide students with copies of the official requirements as well as the actual
4. Have students conduct research on what DACA has meant for hundreds of thousands of
young people in the United States. Ask each student to write a summary on the program
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although the answers provided below will vary from student to student, the responses should
include at a minimum a discussion of the following key points.
1. The United States prides itself on being an “immigration nation.” Yet throughout history, a
succession of different immigrant groups has faced antagonism: Chinese, Irish, Italians,
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Japanese, Germans, and Jews. Now Mexicans and Muslims face hostility. Why does this
happen? What can be done about it?
2. There are different routes to illegal immigration. What are the main ways that people get into
the United States illegally? How do these routes represent different challenges to enforcement
agencies? What can be done to stem them?
3. How are immigration and crime related? What would an evidence-based crime policy look
like, with regard to immigrants?