UNDER SIEGE:

CHILDREN OF MIGRATING FAMILIES

Jeanette De Jesus

Urban Assembly Academy for Future Leaders

INTRODUCTION: Maria is a 13-year-old Puerto Rican girl who leaves her island and mother to live with her father in New York City. Maria loves Puerto Rico and has a close relationship with her mother, but wants to go to a good American college. While she misses all she’s left, she’s fascinated by the barrio, her father’s home, by its personalities and its own language, “Spanglish.” Alternating between joy and sadness, she faces a final decision when her mother visits, and announces that she’s divorcing Maria’s father

Migration alters the structure of families. Experience has shown that children are affected by migration in different ways: some children are left behind by migrant parents; some are brought along with their migrating parents; and some migrate alone, independent of parents and adult guardians. Migration has an impact on both the place left behind, and on the place where migrants settle. While at times this impact can be beneficial, there are also times when migration can negatively impact the stability of the children of migrants.

TASK: For this assignment you will work collaboratively in groups of four (4) to Raise Awareness within your school community on the Negative Impact of Migration on the Children of Migrating Families.

You will work collaboratively with your group to conduct research on the negative impact of migration on the children of migrating families. You will prepare a presentation and an additional product to raise public awareness and convey your message to your peers and school community.

1. You will create a Prezi that will introduce the problem to your audience and offer several solutions and your recommendation for the best solution. Your presentation must include at least 10 slides, with an additional slide for citing sources used.

2. You will design and create Blog with three blog entries that document the beginning, middle and end of your web quest journey and document your analysis, conclusions and proposed solutions to the negative impact of migration on the stability of migrant children.

***Your group will use the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) Tool as an outline for your products***

PROCESS: To complete this project you will need to follow the six (6) steps of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) Tool.

STEP 1: You will be placed in groups of four (4) in order to complete the gathering of information for the PPA worksheets. Each member of the group will have a specific role. Your group roles are as follows:

*Leader – This student will organize the group. He/She will ensure that deadlines are met, keeping everyone on task. This student will help and support all the group members.

*Researcher - This student will lead the research by guiding the other members to the web pages. He/She will assign information from the resources and collect information that will be used to complete the PPA worksheets

*Creative Director - This student will assist the group in generating and developing their ideas. He/She will keep the others abreast of the aim of the assignment, and will ensure that all the work is “innovative.”

Art Director - This student will cover all the aspects of layout, design, and photography. He/She will discuss design and layout ideas with the other group members and will oversee the designing of the Prezi slides and Blog with entries for presentation

** All group members are required to contribute to the completion of the worksheets AND completion and presentation of Prezi and Blog Entries.**

STEP 2: Along with the information from your research, follow the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) 6 Step Process

Public Policy Analysis Skill Steps

Complete the worksheets and allow them to guide you with your Prezi presentation and Blog entries.

1. Define the Problem: Identify and explain the problem that you are researching. Ensure that you can convey why this condition is undesirable. Example

Define the Problem: Worksheet#1

2. Gather the Evidence: The goal of your research is to find proof that this problem actually exists. You can use statistics, primary or secondary sources, articles from newspapers or magazines, blogs, podcasts, etc. Example

Gather the Evidence: Worksheet #2

3. Identify Causes: Why are migrant children separated from their families? Why are they incarcerated? Who or what is responsible for this problem? What are the underlying problems that lead to this type of negative response to children of migrants? Example

Identify the Causes: Worksheet #3

4. Evaluate Existing Public Policies: Find policies that already exist regarding the treatment of migrant children. What do these policies say? Who do they benefit? Do they address the issue of separating and incarcerating migrant children? Do these policies need to be changes? Example

Evaluate an Existing Policy: Worksheet #4

5. Developing Solutions: Formulate new/original public policy alternatives (solution)you’re your social problem. What are some alternatives you think will solve or help with the problem that exists? Example

Develop Solutions: Worksheet #5

6. Select Preferred Policy: Ask yourself how realistic the proposed solution is? How likely would it be to lessen the problem? Are there any obstacles that can prevent it from working? Is there anything that can be done to overcome those obstacles? Example

Select the Best Solution: Worksheet#6

RESOURCES:

Businesses that Serve Immigration Detention

Detention of Immigrant Children

CBS Evening News: Thousands of unaccompanied migrant children could be detained indefinitely

ACLU: FAMILY SEPARATION By the Numbers

NPR: Lengthy Detention of Migrant Children May Create Lasting Trauma, Say Researchers

Women’s Refugee Commission: Here’s How You Can Help Migrant Children

Poor Conditions Persist for Migrant Children Detained at the Border

ACLU: U.S. has taken nearly 1,000 child migrants from their parents since judge ordered stop to border separations

Truth Behind the U.S. History of Detaining Migrant Children

Migration and Children

Migrant Children in the US: The bigger picture explained

Rising Child Migration of the United States

Trump is stripping immigrant children of protections, critics say.

Migrant Caregivers Separated From Children at Border, Sent Back to Mexico

Children at the Border: the crisis that America wasn’t prepared for

New York State Education Department

New York City Department of Education

EVALUATION:

Prezi and Oral Presentation Rubric

Blog Entry Rubric

CONCLUSION: CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have completed your Web Quest study on the problem of the negative impact of the stability of migrant children when separated from their families and incarcerated. Not only have you succeeded in your task of becoming socially aware of this issue, you have raised awareness of this problem in your school community and have also discovered possible solutions to improve it. In the process, you have simultaneously learned and implemented the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) Tool to evaluate civics, citizenship, and governmental systems in order to become a public policy creator, consultant, or lobbyist.