American Immigration SSW 849 Sherrie A. Kossoudji Course Instructor Office Phone email SSW 849 American Immigration Sherrie A. Kossoudji 2788 SSW Building 734-763-6320 kossoudj@umich.edu Write ssw849 in the subject heading and responses will be quicker. Class Time Class Location Mondays, 9am-12pm Office Hours Wednesdays, 2:30—4:00 or by appointment 4700 SSW Building—room change, notice me! Course Description and Objectives Course Description: This class addresses a critical need by focusing specifically on immigration—one of the most volatile and hotly debated issues of our time. How we respond to the myriad questions about immigration and immigrants will determine how our society and economy will look and function in the future. Further, nearly all students will be faced with social service controversies, policy development debates and policy consequences, community antagonism, and poor research because the issues of immigration are little understood by both the public and by many academics. Immigration touches upon every aspect of American society, from economic growth to neighborhood institutions to national culture. In this interdisciplinary seminar we investigate immigration issues using the tools of social science and its ability to produce informed research and the themes of social justice and human rights in social work. We cover many topics and we investigate specific policy issues like legalization, the DREAM Act, birthright citizenship, border enforcement, and the border wall at the southern border. We use discussions to raise and debate questions such as, “What happens to a small town after an ICE raid?”, “What are the implications of the border wall for the rest of us?”, and “What is the impact of legalization (DREAM Act, birthright citizenship) on future undocumented immigration and on U.S. natives?”. Other topics include immigration and immigrant history; immigration law and policy; immigrants and the American economy; the vexing dilemma of undocumented migration and the troubled relationship between Mexico and the United States; refugee and asylum seeking; national integration and transnational communities; immigrant health and the immigrant health paradox; economic mobility and economic and social niches; legal status, declining rates of citizenship, and political inclusion; Americanization and assimilation; and the public’s attitude toward immigration and immigrants. Course Objectives: By the end of our term of study, students will be able to: clearly articulate the main reasons for immigration to the United States from different areas of the world and in different historical and economic environments. understand the historical, social, and economic underpinnings of immigration opinion and immigration policy debates and translate that understanding into effective research and social action. practice research using the techniques, data, and the current body of scholarly literature associated with immigration topics. knowledgeably discuss past and current immigration policy and immigration law through multiple lenses and prepare briefs on policy issues. choose among different social service responses to the needs of immigrants generally and in response to new and existing immigration and immigrant policy. practice nuanced research and social action by being able to merge a knowledgeable social justice and human rights focus with standard disciplinary social science research. address the specific social service, policy, and health issues of immigrants. Class Organization, Requirements, and Grading Organization: This seminar has an exciting and enriching format and students are active participants as we wrestle with the critical questions surrounding immigration today. Classes will have a short lecture based on nuanced factual learning, student and professor led discussion, and student and professor led Wiki empirical research. Lectures help to familiarize students with history, facts, ideas, and techniques of study in immigration research. Discussion helps to consider the readings and the meanings of various immigration research articles, to bring forth new ideas, and to expose the background and sources of debate on the issues. Wiki research provides us with an expanding communal knowledge repository and archive on topics of interest, particularly on statistical facts associated with immigration and on various aspects of immigration policy—which is a tangled web. Active participation in class plays an important role and students will be partly responsible for leading and organizing class discussion and Wiki work. The discussion and Wiki leaders will work with the professor to plan the next week’s discussion or Wiki. Requirements and Grading: In Class Work: Each student will, with the professor, be responsible for one discussion (15 points) and one Wiki session (15 points). Student led discussions and Wiki projects will begin on October 3rd and will continue through the end of November. This is a simple task and students will be graded for organization, topic or question content, and discussion or Wiki content and flow. For other class times in October and November, class participation contributes up to 5 points per class when students are not leaders (30 points—no extra points on leadership days). Out of Class Work: An important part of our learning is to become familiar with immigration policy. Each student will prepare a short summary (one page) and an op-ed piece (one page or less) on Georgia’s or Alabama’s state immigration act, the DREAM Act, the Birthright Citizenship Act, E-Verify, or Secure Communities. This assignment is due on Ctools October 5th by 11:55 pm (20 points). Summaries and op-ed pieces will be put on the Wiki in October when we will work together to improve them. The summary will be graded for succinctness, completeness, and understanding. The op-ed piece will NOT be graded for views but for structure, grammar, and persuasiveness. Each student will prepare an analytical/empirical paper of twenty to twenty-five pages using immigration statistics (like from the Immigration statistical yearbooks), a data set containing immigrant information, or evidence that we agree is acceptable. The paper can be on nearly any topic. For example, someone may choose to write on the prevalence of health insurance among immigrants compared to natives, the health outcomes of undocumented immigrants, home loss for immigrants compared to natives, unemployment differences among immigrants from different countries, the impact of this economic crisis on immigrants, the trends in nationalization rates for Asian immigrants, or identity issues in the 2nd generation. A one-paragraph proposal of topic and approach is due on CTools October 23rd by 11:55 pm. The professor and each student will meet that week to discuss topics, approaches, and data sets. A reference list and outline is due on CTools November 20th by 11:55 pm (10 points). The complete paper is due by 11:55 pm on December 17th (50 points). Papers will be graded for appropriate organization, persuasive use of data and evidence, language and grammar clarity, clarity of arguments, and conclusions. Total points = 140. 849 Class Schedule Sept 12th In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue—but someone was already here Lecture topic: A short history of immigration to the United States with highlights on controversial eras and issues. What are the controversial issues in immigration? How is immigration different in the post 9/11 era? Discussion topic: Why do we argue so much about immigration? Is the idea of immigration different now from the Angell Island/Ellis Island era? Is immigration policy broken or does it do exactly what Americans want it to do? Wiki topic: What does the 2010 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics tell us? Summary of legal permanent residents, refugees and asylees, naturalizations, nonimmigrant admissions, or enforcement actions. Sept 19th “Poor Mexico - so far from God and so close to the United States" (Porfirio Diaz) Lecture topic: Undocumented migration, lives in the United States, and the border. A brief synopsis of policies related to local and state immigration enforcement issues. Discussion topic: My life as an undocumented immigrant memoir. What is it like to be undocumented? How is Gordon Hanson’s review informative? Wiki topic: The role of local and state police in immigration enforcement. Secure Communities, 287(g) programs, E-Verify. What does the Morton memo on Prosecutorial Discretion mean? FYI: The movie AbUSed, about the enforcement raid in Postville, Iowa, will be shown on Wednesday, November 9th at 7pm in room 1840 SSW Sept 26th What do the Texas Proviso, Gentlemen’s Agreement, the USA Patriot Act, and SB1070 all have in common and what have we learned about immigration policy? The Law (with an emphasis on “illegal” immigration). Lecture topic: Immigration policy is hostage policy. Our derivative, manipulative, and in constant crisis immigration policy. Why can’t we pass the Dream Act? Discussion topic: What do our readings tell us about undocumented immigration? What is missing? Why are state laws about immigration so harsh? Local and state enforcement--What does it do to communities? Wiki topic: The Dream Act, SB1070, The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, Alabama’s HB 56. E-Verify. Secure Communities. The Birthright Citizenship Act. Oct 3rd “ Immigrants are taking American jobs—Oh yeah, like Americans can’t wait to sell oranges on the highway” (Bill Mahler) Lecture topic: Immigrant men and women working in America Discussion topic: Wiki topic: Oct 10th Se Habla Espanol in Kentucky? Lecture topic: Traditional gateways new cities of settlement, and local issues Discussion topic: Wiki topic: Oct 17th Oct 24th Study Break, no class Yo quiero Taco Bell (but immigrants should stay home) Lecture topic: The Argument about the Benefits and Costs of Immigration— and public opinion about benefits and costs. Discussion Topic: Wiki Topic: Oct 31st Of Melting Pots, Buffets, Tossed Salads and other Kitchen Metaphors: Lecture topic: What does assimilation mean, part 1? What does assimilation do? An interdisciplinary quandary. Is niche just another word for ghetto? Segmented assimilation. Discussion topic: Wiki topic: Nov 7th Of Melting Pots, Buffets, Tossed Salads and other Kitchen Metaphors: Lecture topic: What does assimilation mean, part 2? The mechanisms of incorporation. How do health, language, religion, race, and identity play into assimilation and vice versa? Discussion topic: Wiki topic: naturalization test Nov 14th Citizenship, Nationality, Transnationality, and the meaning of home: Lecture topic: What does assimilation mean, part 3? What does citizenship mean in this day and age? What is transnationality and how does it affect immigrants and immigrant assimilation? Discussion topic: Wiki topic: Nov 21st Spanglish, another trip to the Buffet, and other Agglomerations: Generational and Identity Change Lecture topic: Lives of the “One and a Half’s” and the “Second Generation”. Who are we? Latinos largest proportion of all children. Discussion topic: Wiki topic: Nov 28th “A mighty woman with a torch whose flame is the imprisoned lightening, and her name Mother of Exiles” (Emma Goldman): Lecture Topic: Getting asylum, refugee America and how the Lost Boys of Sudan ended up in Fargo, North Dakota. Discussion topic: Dec 5 th Wiki topic: Immigrant Rights and Social Justice Lecture topic: The ethics of providing or denying benefits, What rights should the undocumented have? The immigrant rights movement in the 21st century. Discussion topic: Should immigrants have the same rights as natives? Should non-citizens have the same rights as citizens? Should the undocumented have the same rights as others? Wiki topic: legal rights for different groups, social service restrictions, the impact of state policies on social service, health, and financial access. Dec 12th Immigration roundup—looking ahead to Comprehensive Immigration Reform Wiki and Discussion topic: Consider comprehensive immigration reform. Pick any version. How was it initiated? Who were its proponents? Who were its detractors? What are the critical provisions in the bill? How does the 2011 bill differ? What do we envision as the future of Comprehensive Immigration Reform? Reading Materials and Reading List All of the required readings will be on the class CTools web site. There will also be many background readings (not required) on the CTools web site for those who are interested in deepening their knowledge. 1. September 12th: In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue—but someone was already here: Immigration history, the facts, and the question of who is an immigrant in three easy hours Required (to read in the first couple of weeks): The Ellis Island Museum History HTTP://www.ellisisland.org/genealogy/ellis_island_history.asp Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation http://www.aiisf.org/history Mittelstadt, Michelle. Burke Speaker, Doris Meissner, and Muzzaffar Chisti. 2011. Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program Changes in the Decade since 9/11. The Migration Policy Institute, August. (will be an emphasis of lecture). USCIS. 2010. Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. Homeland Security (we will use for class Wiki) 2. September 19th: Poor Mexico - so far from God and so close to the United States (Porfirio Diaz): Undocumented migration, the border, and lives Required: Three Stories (they’re short): Regan, Margaret. 2010. The Death of Joseline. Immigration Stories from Arizona’s Heartland. Beacon press. Prologue. Orner, Peter (ed.). 2008. Underground America. Narratives of Undocumented Lives. McSweeney’s Books. Abel’s story and Lorena’s story. Hanson, Gordon H. 2006. Illegal Immigration from Mexico to the United States. Journal of Economic Literature 44(4). Pp. 869-924. This article has four major sections. ONLY READ section 1 and any of 2, 3, or 4 (the section that best fits your interests). Heyman, Josiah McC. 2008. Constructing a virtual wall: Race and citizenship in U.S/. Mexico border policing. Journal of the Southwest 50(3:305). Vargas, Jose Antonio. 2011. My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant. The New York Times Magazine. June 22. (for class discussion). The Morton memo on prosecutorial discretion (for the Wiki). 3. September 26th: What do the Texas Proviso, The Gentlemen’s Agreement, the USA Patriot Act, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform all have in common and what can we learn about immigration policy from Postville, Iowa? They are all part of our derivative, manipulative, and in constant crisis immigration policy. Required: Mittelstadt, Michelle. Burke Speaker, Doris Meissner, and Muzzaffar Chisti. 2011. Through the Prism of National Security: Major Immigration Policy and Program Changes in the Decade since 9/11. The Migration Policy Institute, August. (will be an emphasis of lecture). Ewing, Walter A. 2008. Opportunity and exclusion: A brief history of immigration policy. Immigration Policy Center Brief. Jacoby, Tamar. 2006. “The system is the problem: Immigration laws trap those who comply and those who don't,” The Washington Post, 15 December. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/12/14/AR2006121401362.h tml (Accessed on August 16, 2009). And at least ONE of the following: Kremer, James. et al. 2009. Severing a Lifeline: the Neglect of citizen Children in America’s Immigration Enforcement Policy. The Urban Institute and Dorsey and Whitney, LLP. Brownell, Peter Bartholomew. 2009. Sanctions for whom? The Immigration Reform and Control Act’s “Employer Sanctions” provisions and the wages of Mexican Immigrants. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California at Berkeley. Chapters 4 and 5. 4. October 3rd: “ Immigrants are taking American jobs—Oh yeah, like Americans can’t wait to sell oranges on the highway” (Bill Mahler): Immigrant men and women working in America Required: Park, Keumjae. 2008. I Can Provide for my Children: Korean Immigrant Women’s Changing Perspectives on Work Outside the Home. Gender Issues 25:26—42. Ramirez, Hernando and Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo. 2009. Mexican immigrant gardeners: Entrepreneurs or exploited workers? Social Problems 56(1:70). Purser, Gretchen. 2009. The dignity of job Seeking Men: Boundary Work among Immigrant Day Laborers. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 37-117. And at least ONE of the following: Cranford, Cynthia J. 2005. Networks of exploitation: Immigrant labor and the restructuring of the Los Angeles janitorial industry. Social Problems 52(3:379). Read, Jennan Ghazal and Cohen, Philip N. 2007. One Size Fits All? Explaining U.S.born and Immigrant Women’s Employment across 12 Ethnic Groups. Social Forces, 85 (4):1713-1734 5. October 10th: Se Habla Espanol in Kentucky? Traditional gateways, new cities of settlement, and local issues. Singer, Audrey. 2004. The rise of new immigrant gateways. Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. Read at least up to page 10. Shultz, Benjamin J. 2008. Inside the gilded cage: The lives of Latino immigrant males in Central Kentucky. Southeastern Geographer 48(2:201). Mcgrath, Michael. 2009. The new gateways: Immigrant integration in unexpected places. National Civic Review Spring. And at least one of the following two articles— Benjamin-Alvarado, Jonathan; Louis DeSipo and Celeste Montoya. 2009. Latino mobilization in new immigrant destinations: The Anti_H.R. 4437 protests in Nebraska cities. Urban Affairs Review 44(5:718). Haywood, Stacy and Dowell Myers. 2002. The dynamics of immigration and local governance in Santa Ana: Neighborhood activism, overcrowding, and land-use policy. 6. October 17th: Yo Quiero Taco Bell (but immigrants should stay home): The Argument about the Benefits and Costs of Immigration—and the public’s opinion about the benefits and costs. Required: Jaynes, Gerald. 2009. A conversation about the economic effects of immigration on African Americans. Immigration Policy Center Perspectives. Lopez, Mark Hugo, et al. 2010. Illegal Immigrant Backlash Worries, Divides Latinos. Pew Hispanic Center. Washington, D. C. And at least two of the following three articles— Buckler, Kevin et al. 2009. Public views of illegal migration policy and control strategies: a test of the core hypotheses. Journal of Criminal Justice 37.pp.317-327. Bali, Valentina. 2009. Tinkering toward a national identification system: an experiment on policy attitudes. Policy Studies Journal 37(2). Jimenez, Tomas. 2007. Weighing the costs and benefits of Mexican immigration: the Mexican American perspective. Social Science Quarterly 88(3). October 24th: No class, study break. Have fun! 7. October 31st: Of Melting Pots, Buffets, Tossed Salads and other Kitchen Metaphors: What does assimilation mean, part 1? Required: Rumbaut, Ruben G. 1997. "Assimilation and Its Discontents." International Migration Review 31(4):923-60. Arlene Michaels Miller, Dina Birman, Shannon Zenk,Edward Wang, Olga Sorokin, and Jorgia Connor. 2009. Neighborhood Immigrant Concentration, Acculturation, and Cultural Alienation in Former Soviet Immigrant Women. Journal of Community Psychology. 37 (1):88—105. Waters, Mary C. and Tomas R. Jimenez. 2005. Assessing immigrant assimilation: New empirical and theoretical challenges. Annual Review of Sociology 31: 105. Aleinikoff, T. Alexander. 1998. A Multicultural Nationalism? The American Prospect. January-February. 8. November 7th: Of Melting Pots, Buffets, Tossed Salads and other Kitchen Metaphors: What does assimilation mean, part 2? Required: Qin, Desiree B. 2008. Gendered Processes of Adaption: Understanding parent-Child Relations in Chinese Immigrant Families. Sex Roles. 60:467—481. Van Hook, Jennifer et al. 2009. Moving to the land of milk and cookies: Obesity among the children of immigrants. Migration Policy Institute. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=739(accessed September 1, 2009) Tseng, Vivian and Andrew J. Fuligni. 2000. Parent-Adolescent Language Use and Relationships Among Immigrant Families with East Asian, Filipino, and Latin American Backgrounds. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 62(2):465. Rosenfeld, Michael J. 2002. Measures of assimilation in the marriage market: Mexican Americans 1970-1990. Journal of Marriage and the Family 64(1:152). 9. November 14th: Citizenship, Nationality, Transnationality, and the Meaning of Home Required: Dominguez, Silvia and Amy Lubitow. 2008. Transnational Ties, Poverty, and Identity: Latin American Immigrant Women in Public Housing. Family Relations 57: 419-430. Hondagneu-Sotelo, Pierette and Ernestine Avila. 1997. I’m here but I’m there: The meanings of Latina transnational motherhood. Gender & Society 11(5:548). And at least one of the following three articles— Waldinger, Roger and David Fitzgerald. 2004. Transnationalism in question. American Journal of Sociology 109(5:1177). Waldinger, Roger; Eric Popkin and Hector Aquiles Magana. 2008. Conflict and contestation in the cross-border community: hometown associations reassessed. Ethnic and Racial Studies 31(5:843). Waldinger, Roger. 2008. Between here and there: Immigrant cross border activities and loyalties. International Migration Review 42(1:3). 10. November 21st: Spanglish and other Agglomerations: Generational and Identity Change—One and a Halfs and the Second Generation Pyke, Karen. 2000. The normal American family as an interpretive structure of family life among grown children of Korean and Vietnamese immigrants. Journal of Marriage and the Family 62(1:240). Park, Lisa Sun-Hee. 2008. The continuing significance of the model minority myth: The second generation. Social Justice 35(2:134). The entire Pew Hispanic Center Staff. 2009. Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America. Pew Hispanic Center. Washington D.C. And at least one of the following five articles— Zhou, Min et al. 2008. Success attained deterred and denied: Divergent pathways to social mobility in Los Angeles’ new second generation. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620(37). Kasinitz, Phillip. 2008. Becoming American, becoming minority getting ahead: the role of racial and ethnic status in the upward mobility of children of immigrants. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620(253). Nicholas, Tekla; Alex Stepkick and Carol Dutton Stepkick. 2008. Here’s your diploma mom: family obligation and multiple pathways to success. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620(237). Rumbaut, Ruben. 2008. The coming of the second generation: Immigration and ethnic mobility in southern California. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620(196). Fernandez-Kelly, Patricia. 2008. The Back Pocket Map: Social class and cultural capital as transferable assets in the advancement of second generation immigrants. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 620(116). 11. November 28th: A mighty woman with a torch whose flame is the imprisoned lightening, and her name Mother of Exiles: Getting asylum, Refugee America and how the lost boys of Sudan ended up in Fargo, North Dakota Required: Ramji-Nogales, Jaya; Andrew I Schoenholtz; Philip G Schrag. 2007. Refugee roulette: disparities in asylum adjudication. Stanford Law Review 60(2). Please read AT LEAST sections 1 and 6. This is a fascinating, if long, article. United Nations High Commission on Refugees. 2002. Cover story: Lost girls of Sudan (and women as refugees) pp. 4-14 in Refugees 1(126). United Nations High Commission on Refugees. 2000. Cover story: Lost boys of Sudan (and U.S. as main place of asylum) pp. 4-16 in Refugees 2(119). And at least one of the following two articles— Fletcher, Aubra. 2006. The REAL ID Act: Further gender bias in asylum law. Berkeley Journal of Gender Law and Justice 111. Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. 2010. Refugee Resettlement in the United States: An Examination of Challenges and Proposed Solutions. 12. December 5th: The Struggle for Immigrant Rights Required: Watson, Tara. 2010. Inside the Refrigerator: Immigration Enforcement and the Chilling Effects in Medicaid Participation . NBER Working Paper No. 16278. Baker-Cristales, Beth. 2009. Mediated resistance: The construction of liberal citizenship in the immigrant rights movement. Latino Studies 7(1:60). Gonzales, Alfonzo. 2009. The 2006 mega marchas in greater Los Angeles: Counter hegemonic movement and the future of El Migrante struggle. Latino Studies 7(1:30). Dwyer, James. 2004. Illegal immigrants, health care, and social responsibility. The Hastings Center Report 34(1:34). 13. December 12th. Immigration RoundUp: What have we learned? Possibilities for comprehensive immigration reform. Rosenblum, Mark. 2011. U.S. Immigration Policy Since 9/11: Understanding the Stalemate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Migration Policy Institute. August. Read current comprehensive immigration reform bill and break off pieces, like the DREAM Act bill.