February 26, 2003

RUSHING THE BORDER
Discussing the Complex Issues of Immigrants Who Overstay Their Legal Welcome

Grades:  6-8, 9-12

Subjects:  Civics, Geography, Language Arts, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"U.S. Crackdown Sets Off Unusual Rush to Canada, By SUSAN SACHS", February 26, 2003

Overview of Lesson Plan:: In this lesson, students explore the recent changes in immigration registration and its effects on the Pakistani immigrant population, participate in a round table discussion about the policies and imagine conversations taking place between individuals involved in this issue.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:
1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Students will:

  1. Consider two deportation scenarios and evaluate their views on them.
  2. Examine the current immigration wave of Pakistani-American immigrants to Canada by reading and discussing the article “U.S. Crackdown Sets Off Unusual Rush to Canada.”
  3. Debate political and social issues that complicate the current United States immigration and registration laws for immigrants with expired visas.
  4. Imagine and transcribe conversations between key people involved in the immigration asylum issue.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

  1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Students respond to the following scenario in their journals (written on the board prior to class): “A European family consisting of a mother, father and two children are in the process of being split up because of new registration laws for immigrants. The father is being deported immediately. Since the children were born in the United States, they are considered citizens and are allowed to stay. Should the father be deported? Why or why not?” After a few minutes, erase the word “European” and replace it with “Middle Eastern,” and allow students to respond to the prompt again. Then, after a few more minutes, poll the students for their responses and write the tallies on the board. Allow a few students to share their reasons. What factors were considered in making their decisions? Under what circumstances might some of these factors become more or less important?
  2. As a class, read and discuss the article “U. S. Crackdown Sets Off Unusual Rush to Canada,” focusing on the following questions:
    1. Why did Jalil Mirza decide to leave the United States?
    2. What happened to the Mirza family when they were told by Canadian officials to come back to the border in two weeks?
    3. What are the new federal deadlines regarding males from Muslim and Arab countries?
    4. What is the American immigration registration deadline for Pakistanis?
    5. Why did Pakistani asylum seekers choose Canada?
    6. What did Mr. Mirza plan to do when he approached the American-Canadian border for the last time?
    7. What percentage of asylum seekers in November 2002 were Pakistani?
    8. What percentage of asylum seekers in January 2003 were Pakistani?
    9. According to the new registration program, what will happen to a person who has overstayed his or her visa?
    10. How many countries has this registration program affected?
    11. What choices do illegal Muslim immigrants have?
    12. How does Canada’s refugee approval rate compare with that of the United States?
    13. What problem exists for the Canadian border officials at the crossings from northern New York and Vermont?
    14. What had Canada asked the United States to assure when they could not process applicants on the spot?
    15. Why does Mr. Sheik not want to be deported?
    16. How do the Pakistanis interviewed for the article feel about the United States?
  3. In round-table discussion format, students explore the issues about immigration, deportation and renewal of expired visas and other immigration paperwork discussed in the article “U.S. Crackdown Sets Off Unusual Rush to Canada.” Though the discussion will most likely be easily driven by student comments, some guiding questions are offered below. Because the discussion may become heated, the teacher may want to maintain a "speaker's list." Students who wish to add to the discussion raise their hands, and the teacher writes their names on a list. Students will be called on in the order that their names appear on the speaker's list. Students can be added to the list at any time by raising their hand, but students must talk in turn.
  4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Students imagine conversations based on the discussions conducted in class and the article “U.S. Crackdown Sets Off Unusual Rush to Canada.” Suggestions for conversation pairs include:Each student can detail their imagined conversation by writing a transcript of a conversation that might occur between the pair, letters between them, or some other creative form of communication. In a future class, students should share their conversation assignments with a partner, peer edit for factual and realistic information, and share their writings with the class.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on initial journal response and thoughtful decision-making about hypothetical immigration scenarios, participation in class discussions, and thoughtful, accurate and creative conversation transcriptions imagined between individuals involved in the current immigration wave to Canada.

VOCABULARY:
deportation, besieged, exodus, dragnets, prosaic, asylum, leniency

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  1. Compile an “Introduction to Immigration” glossary, including terms found in the article “U.S. Crackdown Sets Off Unusual Rush to Canada.” Include other terms associated with illegal and legal immigration, such as green card, visa, deportation and asylum. Alternately, create an “Immigration Primer.”
  2. Create a timeline illustrating the process for legally immigrating to the United States from a country of your choice.
  3. Write a research paper examining the naturalization process for potential citizens of the United States.
  4. Create a map detailing the United States-Canada border. Include all major checkpoints and nearby cities.
  5. Investigate the immigration patterns of other groups of immigrants to and within the United States, either currently or historically. Write a newspaper article, short story or other creative piece to share your research findings.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
Global History- Write a research paper exploring human rights issues in Pakistan. Be sure to look at women’s issues, such as the reason why “love marriages” could mean death for the wife.

Mathematics- Chart the monthly immigration rates from the United States to Canada since September 11, 2001. What do these rates demonstrate?

Media Studies- Using the Mirzi family as a model, write a screenplay about a family that is separated while trying to stay together. What happens in the end?

Copyright 2003
The New York Times Company

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