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/