Illegal Immigration

a WebQuest for High School Spanish

by Kurt Gulbro

Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

    Though only recently brought to the nation's attention by the Elian Gonzalez situation, illegal immigration is considered a rapidly growing problem in the United States.  Thousands upon thousands of illegal immigrants come into the country from countries all over the world.  Though on the surface it would appear to only be a problem for "border states" such as California, Texas, and Florida.  Illegal immigrants are considered a problem that affects the United States as a whole.
    This Web Quest is designed to make you take a deeper look at illegal immigration and the effects that it has on our nation from a variety of perspectives.  It will ask you to look at it from the standpoint of the illegal immigrant, the texas rancher, the border patrol officer, and the variety of people that illegal immigration affects.  Why are illegal immigrants risking their lives to come to the United States?  Is the government doing all it can do to control and stop the flow of illegal immigrants into this country?  How does illegal immigration affect Illinois and the Chicago area?    You will answer these questions and more through this Web Quest.

This WebQuest is comprised of three assignments:

Mandatory Assignments

Assignment #1 -- Answer the following questions in Spanish paragraphs.

• Why do people immigrate to the United States?
• What are the conditions that immigrants are leaving in their home countries?
• How do people illegally immigrate into the United States?
• What kind of lives do illegal immigrants have in this country (jobs, places to live, salary, etc.)
• How does illegal immigration affect Illinois?
• What steps is the government taking to stop illegal immigration?

• Why did you come to the United States?
• How did you get here?
• Describe the thoughts and feelings you are having as you make your journey
• How did you escape or avoid the border patrol?
• Are you successful?  If so, flash forward three months?  What is going on in your life now?  What conditions are you living in?  Do you regret your decision to come to the United States?  If you are unsuccessful: How did you fail?  Will you try again?  Why or why not?

• Research and report on the history, responsibilities, and actions of the two organizations most concerned with illegal immigration: The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the United States Border Patrol (USBP).    You may choose to either do an oral report, web page, or a research paper. You must use at least five sources.
• Research and report on five laws or bills that deal with illegal immigration.  Look at the causes behind these bills, their purpose, their effectiveness, and public reaction.  You must include both the Illegal Immigrant Responsibility and Reform Act of 1996 and Proposition 187.  You must use at least five sources for this assignment
• Unfortunately, many ranchers in Texas and Arizona have begun to take matters into their own hands and seek out Illegal Immigrants who are trespassing on their property.  Many have even gone so far as to hunt down and in some cases kill the immigrants.  Imagine that you are a Texas rancher who is the subject of a twenty minute interview on either a local or national newscast.  Provide a transcript of this interview using both what the interviewer and you say to each other.  In this interview you must address the following questions:  What kind of damage are the illegal immigrants doing to your property?  Are you taking matters into your own hands?  If so, how do you justify your actions?  If not, do you agree with the actions of your colleagues?  Is the government doing enough to stop illegal immigrants?  If not, what else should be done?  If you wish, for extra credit, you may perform and record the interview on a VHS tape.  (If you opt to do a tape, you may select a partner to work with you on the tape.  Your partner will also receive extra credit.)
• Write a persuasive essay on whether or not the United States should control immigration, both legal and illegal, into the United States.  Use at least four arguments for your position, and back these up with credible facts, statistics, and opinions.
• Research several sources (both on-line and print media sources) and give a detailed OBJECTIVE report on the most famous illegal immigrant situation in recent history -- the Elian Gonzalez situation.  Then, give your own detailed opinion as to whether this situation was handled correctly.  If not, what could or should have been done differently?
• You have been placed in charge of either the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and must present to Congress for their approval a detailed plan of how you will find and punish the illegal immigrants that live in this country and the businesses that hire them.  Remember that since you are presenting to Congress, the solutions must be PRACTICAL!  Also remember that you have a budget (you must include a cost analysis) and that Congress has constituents to keep happy.
• You have been placed in charge of The United States Border Patrol (USBP).  Write up a detailed proposal for your supervisors of how you will control and stop the thousands of Illegal Immigrants that come into this country daily.  What help do you need?  What steps do the Border Patrol need to take?  What support (monetary, personnel. or otherwise) do you need.  Remember that you have a budget (provide a cost analysis) and must provide PRACTICAL solutions.  Remember also that your supervisor reports to a House subcommittee, and they must keep their constituents happy.

Resources
    Remember that the internet is only your PRIMARY resource for this assignment.  You can and should use other sources to obtain your information, including the reader's guide, reference materials, magazines, and newspapers.  They would be a wonderful supplement to the following links:

Government and Informational Sites

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)  -- the official web site of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, who are responsible for finding and removing illegal immigrants from the United States.

United States Border Patrol -- The unofficial site of the United States Border Patrol

United Sates Border Patrol -- Another unofficial site of the United States Border Patrol, very informative, with an FAQ section and a great set of links.
 

Organizations Concerned with Immigration

Center for Immigration Studies -- Immigration Statistics, Articles, and Links to other sites about immigration

The Federation for American Immigration Reform -- an organization looking to restore reasonable and moderate levels of immigration.

NumbersUSA -- Statistics, articles and opinions regarding immigration

Aztlan -- A radical organization dedicated to the rights of illegal immigrants and Hispanic citizens of the U.S.

United States Border Control -- Organization dedicated to stopping illegal immigration into the United States

American Civil Liberties Union -- Many articles on the constitutionality (in their opinion) of various immigration laws
 

Immigration Law and Information Sites

Illegal Immigrant Responsibility and Reform Act of 1996 -- Explanation of the controversial law regarding illegal immigration

Proposition 187 -- an overview of the California law prohibiting state aid to illegal immigrants

Policy.com -- links to numerous articles and information about illegal immigration
 

Elian Gonzalez Site

Elian Gonzalez homage -- liberty for Elian Gonzalez
 

Other Search Engines

Altavista
Dogpile
Northern Light
Lycos
Alltheweb

The Process

For each of the assignments you will be allowed access to the Internet, but print media (magazines, newspapers, etc.) is also highly recommended.  Each assignment must be on a word processor or written (not printed!) on notebook paper in blue or black ink.  Word processing is preferred and recommended.

You will be given four weeks to research and find your activities.  During this time we will have class as usual, with a certain number of days set aside for researching this topic, lectures and videos about illegal immigration, etc.  You are expected to do the majority of the research on your own time.  Do not wait until the last minute!

Here are some tips for your assignments.

Assignment #1 -- Try to use words that you already know in Spanish to answer each of these questions in paragraph.  Do not try to overstate your answer.  Instead, try to answer in simple, concise Spanish, answering the question thoroughly.  Try to restate words that you don't know, or look up the words and ask me for help if necessary.  Remember that you may be using this information for other assignments later, so the more research that you do now, the less you may have to do later!

Assignment #2  -- Try to be as descriptive as possible.  Base your account on the information that you researched for Assignment #1.  While I am expecting a factually based account, remember that you are also writing a narrative so try to be both creative and descriptive about both your main character, other characters, and your journey to "El Norte" (the United States)

Assignment #3 -- Each of these assignments require different information, which is detailed above.

Be sure that you list your sources in a bibliography!

Each assignment will be graded on an individual basis, based on the rubrics described here, with the student receiving an overall unit grade comprised of the three separate assignments.

Rubric -- Assignment #1
Rubric -- Assignment #2
Rubric -- Assignment #3

  By the end of this WebQuest you have learned to look at a very divisive problem (illegal immigration) from a different points of view.  You have at seen it from the side of the immigrant and the government, as well as other groups and individuals affected by the phenomenon.  Hopefully you can take this ability and apply it to other social or political concerns (the environment, federal funding, etc.) that will occur during your lifetime, seeing the concerns of all people involved, and then make an educated opinion based on the facts that you have gathered.