4.1: Immigration in the News

The United States has always been peopled by the world - by native peoples who lived here when the first European settlers arrived, by Africans who were brought here against their will as slaves, by those who came voluntarily, and by those who fled oppression and terror at home.

Immigration tripled following the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, as people from Africa, Asia, and the Americas became more than 90% of the foreign-born people coming to this country. NPR journalist Tom Gjelten (2015) calls the United States "a nation of nations."

The United States now has more immigrants than any other country in the world, reports the Pew Research Center - some 40 million people or about 14% of the nation's total population. But immigration is a complex and contentious political issue. Read Why Is Immigration Such a Hot-Button Issue? from the St. Mary's College Newsletter to get a sense of the wide range of viewpoints about immigration. Some commentators want to provide more opportunities for immigration; others want to restrict immigration even more drastically.

Focusing on news and current events, this activity asks you to compare and contrast different media treatments of immigration and present your findings to a school or local newspaper. 

Activity: Evaluate the News From All Sides About Immigration

• In groups of 3, go to the All Sides Immigration Issue webpage and select one member in the group to read an article from "News from the Left," one member to read an article from "News from the Center," and one member to read an article from "News from the Right." 
  • Each member of the group should use the Teacher and Student Guide to Analyzing News & Newspaper to critically evaluate their article. 
• Then, collaboratively as a group, write a letter to your school or local newspaper that reveals what you found during your critical evaluation of left-leaning, center-leaning, and right-leaning news articles and provides tips for the readers of your article to critically evaluate news about immigration. 

Additional Resources

• Documentary Forgotten Ellis Island（on Amazon Prime)
• Immigration Gateways and Ports of Entry
  • Castle Island, New York City
  • Ellis Island, New York City
  • Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
  • Angel Island, San Francisco
  • Pelican Island, Galveston, Texas
  • The US/Mexican Border