Immigration policy memo
Assignment Guidelines:
You will select one of the U.S. immigration policies or legislations (e.g., immigration control, citizenship & naturalization, asylum & refugee, amnesty, family unification, border control, bilingual education policy etc.) that is interesting to you and write a brief memo on the chosen policy or legislation. Late assignments are discouraged. Plagiarism is not tolerated. You must be clear on what is being said and who said it whenever you are borrowing from or reporting on the work of others. Always include proper citations when borrowing from or reporting on the work of others. Close paraphrasing with/without citation is considered as plagiarism. Students are discouraged from citing Internet materials whose sources are not clear.
Documents must be in 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font and double-spaced with page numbers and one-inch margins on all sides. The assignment should be 4-5 pages in length, excluding the reference page. You are expected to complete this assignment independently. The memo is worth 20% of your total grade (written memo 15% + class presentation 5%)
Your task is to write a memo on one of the immigration policies or legislations that you want to know better. There are numerous policies and laws from which to choose. Examples are as follows.
Refugeesadmission/settlementpolicy
Citizenship policy
Visa policies on permanent residents or professional-skilled workers
Enforcement on illegal immigrants
Bilingualeducation
The Arizonas immigration enforcement laws in 2010
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors)
Trumps executive order on immigration
The memo should introduce what the policy is, its background/rationale, and the kind of issues and responses that have been discussed in regard to the policys implementation and consequences. To complete this assignment, first you will collect facts on the chosen policy or legislation and understand the most important aspects of the policy. Second, write a memo in a brief manner assuming that your audience is laypersons who are uninformed on any immigration policies or issues.
The policy memo should include the four sections:
1) a brief introduction of the policy or the legislation (fast facts) 2) major issues & debate identified, and
3) your comments.
4) cite all four reading assignments analyzed in class:
– Massey, Douglas S. 1999. Why Does Immigration Occur? A Theoretical Synthesis (pp.34-52) – Waldinger, Roger. 1989. Immigration and Urban Change (pp.211-232)
– Gordon, Milton. 1964. The Nature of Assimilation (pp.60-83)
– Salins, Peter. 1997. Assimilation, American Style (pp.43-60)
5) you may cite from other academic sources: books, research articles, Immigration Policy Center Homeland Security, Migration Policy Institute, National Conference of State Legislatures, National Immigration Forum, Top policy think tanks (e.g., Brooking Institution, Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute, Pew Research Center, Institute for Policy Studies)
The grading criteria
Did you summarize the policy facts well including the elements that were required? Did your memo indicate that you understood the policy issues clearly? Did you cite the sources properly and clearly (e.g., reference list, citation format)? Did you proofread your memo?
