Akela Leach
Introduction and Rationale
For centuries, ships sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Hudson River and docked on Ellis Island in New York City. The Statue of Liberty is one of the first sights one lays eye on when arriving to America on Ellis Island. “The New Colossus” poem engraved on the side of the statue has solidified The Statue of Liberty as a symbol of immigration in the United States.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door![1]
The beginning of the poem references an ancient Greek statue. However, the most famous lines of the poem are, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.”
The “huddled masses” refers to people from around the world who seek refuge in the “land of the free.” Lady Liberty is opening America’s arms and welcoming all who want to find a new life and home. Today, the Statue of Liberty represents immigration from across the globe to the United States. While The Statue of Liberty is a beacon of hope in American civic culture, the country has not been welcome to all who wish to come. The poem was engraved in the base of the statue in 1903. At the time the poem was written, the “exiles” refers to only people from certain Europe countries, not the entire globe.
The welcoming symbolization of the Statue of Liberty is contrasted by Angel Island on the opposite coast of the United States. Angel Island is located in San Francisco, California. Immigrants from Asian countries from the mid-1800s – early 1900s disembark on Angel Island upon arrival in America. Their arrival was not met with the same open arms as some European immigrants who arrive in New York. Laws excluded working class Asian immigrants, particularly Chinese immigrants from migrating to the United States.[2] The Asian immigrants were viewed as unable to assimilate to American culture. Chinese immigrants were detained at Angel Island and many families were separated.[3] The history of Angel Island presents a stark comparison to the American ideals of immigration. Instead, Angel Island quickly transitions from a place of hope to a place of rejection.
The most contemporary symbol of immigration is the Rio Grande along the border of Mexico and the southwestern states of the US. Migrants from South American and Central American countries and Mexico enter the United States by crossing the US-Mexican border. The border represents current sentiments some Americans and politicians have against Hispanic and Latino immigrants who migrate to the US without documentation. The border wall along the Mexican border represents the barrier many wish to keep immigrants out of the US.
The history of immigration in the US is full of dichotomies: invitation and rejection, open arms and exclusion, celebration and fear. Students will learn about the hope of a better life that America portrays to the world and the xenophobia that has kept people from migrating. Both Ellis Island and Angel Island were integral to immigration and viewed as a symbol of hope for newcomers upon first arrival from the mid-1800s to early 1900s. However, both places operated as immigration prison sites until the 1950s.[4]
Demographics
I teach 5th grade at an elementary school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My school is located in midtown, with a diverse population. About half of the students live in the school’s neighborhood and the other half comes from all over the city. Our school district has made an effort to emphasize social emotional learning and equity in classrooms. The aim is for students to build empathy and connect coursework to real world problems and solutions. My students are developing their personal identities, and they are interested in learning about the world.
In 2022, our school district became a safe haven for Afghan refugees, and our school received students. My students were very receptive, compassionate, and helpful to the new students. Last year, our new custodian became a naturalized citizen. A group of staff attended his ceremony, and we held a celebration for him at school. Students interviewed him for the school newspaper.
This topic will meet more than one standard in 5th grade curriculum. In social studies, the theme of the curriculum is “the founding of America.” We learn about colonization how America’s independence formed a new type of government that is ruled “by the people.” In our district reading curriculum, there are a few units that explore the topic of immigration. One unit is entitled, “A New Home” which contains four different stories of kids from different countries who immigrate to the United States for various reasons. Another unit, “The Wild West,” contains a story about the Chinese immigrant workers who built the first transcontinental railroad system. Lastly a few of the novel studies we use in class will complement this unit. We read, Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzi, and Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan. Both Born a Crime and I Am Malala introduce students to global issues. Save Me a Seat is about a 5th grade boy who immigrates from India to New Jersey.
Content Objectives
The United States has the largest population of international immigrants in the world. The US has more immigrants than the next four countries combined: Germany, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United Kingdom.[5] Over 40 million immigrants live in the US, which is about 13.7% of the total US population. In this unit, students will learn: 1) Why do people immigrate to America? 2) What choices do immigrates have to make when they decide to leave their homes? 3) How will climate change impact the next wave of immigrants?
A Nation of Immigrants
America is often referred to as a “melting pot” of cultures, ethnicities, and customs of people from around the world. The melting pot is considered by many a positive asset for the nation. For centuries, the US made efforts to allow certain people to immigrate to America and laws to exclude other groups. Ironically, although the United States attempts to exclude groups from migrating to its shores, the “melting pot” that is championed by many would not exist without the people who were at one time excluded. Immigrant populations that were excluded during one point in history were later considered Americanized. A country that prides itself on being governed by “the people” is always concerned about which people are included in the melting pot. Immigration in America has had multiple waves over time.
From the very beginning of the United States’ origins, the founding fathers recognized that a newly formed country would depend on newcomers consistently arriving in on its shores. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying, “The only encouragements we hold out to strangers are: a good climate, fertile soil, wholesome air and water, plenty of provisions, good pay for labor, kind neighbors, good laws, a free government, and a hearty welcome.”[6] In early America, the country wanted to attracted settlers and opened its shores to European groups. In 1817, the immigration rate in the US began to rise.[7] Europeans were fleeing the turmoil of the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The US Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams said that, “America invited none to come, but would not keep out those who had the courage to cross the Atlantic”.[8] Around the 1840s, the first wave of immigrants were from western European nations such as Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia.[9]
Figure 1. This figure shows the countries of origin from Europe to the United States. [10]
The Gold Rush of 1848 attracted an influx of migrants across the Pacific Ocean and to California. Most of the Asian immigrants were from China. More specifically, most were from Taishan county in Guangdong, about a 30 square mile. The area was rife with ethnic conflict, overpopulation, economic downturn, and crop failure.[11] The men of Taishan who migrated to California to work in gold mines and strike wealth were referred as the “The Gold Mountain Guests.”[12] Unfortunately, the dream of striking rich and retiring in Taishan rarely came to fruition. By the mid 1850s, Chinese immigrants stayed in the US and turned to manual labor such as digging for borax and coal.[13] Chinese immigrants constituted the majority of the workforce on projects like the Central Pacific Railroad, which was part of the great Transcontinental Railroad, and by 1968 80% of the railroad workforce was Chinese. The Chinese population in California grew exponentially, mostly of men. King writes in Atlas of Human Migration, “Throughout the 1880s in California there were more than 20 Chinese men for every Chinese woman. In 1857 there were 25,421 Chinese men and 3 Chinese women.” [14]
The “Chinatown” in San Francisco was a town of only men. Because the men were single and did not have children, they could freely move to find work. The position of the Chinese men were extremely unique. Unlike European immigrants on the Eastern seaboard, such as Italians or Germans, the Chinese congregated in a single area and became about half of the local population.[15]
The rise in population of Chinese immigrants coupled with a slump in the Californian economy in the 1870s caused the Chinese immigrants to be viewed as a threat.[16] Thus, the first federal legislations barring migrants were created. In 1875, the Page Law became the first legislation to prohibit groups from immigrating.[17] The purpose was to exclude groups who were not following “social norms” and had criminal history. Subsequent laws continued to focus on excluding others. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 excluded Chinese immigrants who were deemed “a threat.” [18]
From the 1890s-1920s the next wave of immigrants came from the southeastern European countries of Italy, Austria, and Russia.[19] In the 1920s, racializing groups of immigrants became more established. The First Quota Act of 1921 established a quota system that calculated a formula of 3% of foreign-born person in the United States. [20] The act restricted the number of immigrants to the 3% of the total population of their home country. The Immigration Act of 1924 began to differentiate between different European groups. Non-Europeans were unable to immigrate, and Asian immigrants were formally categorized as non-white. Each European country was ranked, and preferential treatment was given to northwestern Europeans. [21]
Another wave of immigrants came from Latin American countries. Most Latinos entered the United States through the American southwest, which was land that used to belong to Mexico: Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California.[22] After the Mexican American War, (1846-1848) an estimated 80,000 Mexicans lived there and were given the choice to go to Mexico or remain Mexican citizens and keep their property in the United States.[23] A majority of Mexicans who remained chose to become American citizens.[24] Mexicans could cross the border freely, some coming to look for work and others to settle in the Southwest. After the Mexican Revolution began in 1910, an influx of 700,000 Mexicans immigrated to the United States. They crossed the Rio Grande using ferries and entered ports of entries.[25]
By the 1920s, many became migrant works traveling from farm to farm to find work. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, there was very little opportunity for work for immigrants or American citizens. People of Mexican heritage, even American citizens, were targeted in raids and roundups.[26] Over 400,000 Mexicans and Mexican Americans were forced to return to Mexico.
Two laws in the 19th century laid the foundation for immigration today, The Bracero Program and the 1965 Immigration Act. In 1942, World War II caused a labor shortage and the United States looked to Mexico to fulfill the void of workers.[27] The Bracero Program was an agreement between the US and Mexico and permitted Mexican citizens to work agricultural jobs in the US. The program lasted much longer than World War II and ended in 1964.[28] In the US, industry and farm production increased and more workers were needed.[29] The term “bracero” translates to mean a manual worker or someone who works “using their arms.”[30] The program allowed Mexican laborers to work in the US for short periods of time, have contracts that ensured fair working conditions and fair wage. Only men were allowed to come. They could not bring their wives or families.[31] The Bracero Program ended in 1964.[32] The 1965 Immigration Act repealed the national origin quotas that favored western Europe. It also established visas for family reunification including Mexican migrant workers who had been separated from their families.[33]
Today, the country that emigrates to the United States the most is by far Mexico. Almost 1/4 of immigrants come from Mexico. The next largest populations are from India and China. Each country has 6% of the immigrant population. Other countries that have the highest immigrants to the United States are the Philippines with 4% and El Salvador with 3%.[34] Immigrants who identify as Asian, make up the most with 28%. Asians are expected to surpass the Hispanic immigrant group by 2055. The reasons for migration vary from climate migration, fleeing to safety, and better education and economic opportunity.[35]
Why Do People Leave Their Countries?
Climate Change
Climate change is changing environments across the globe. The increase in the global temperature is increasing the frequency of catastrophic events. The impact on the environment is two-fold. Hurricanes and earthquakes can wreak enormous havoc and destroy communities in minutes. Some impacts happen over time and more long-lasting damage such as droughts and desertification which ultimately leads to food insecurity.[36] These disasters destroy the livelihoods and cause people to migrate. Much of the migration occurs within a country. However, international migration due to climate disasters is increasing.[37] By 2050, an estimated 1.5 million people will migrate from Mexico and Central America to the United States due to climate disaster. Worldwide up to 200 million people will migrate internally and externally by 2050.[38]
The impacts on climate change are inevitable and widespread. Preparation for and discussion of climate migration is difficult because it presents unique challenges. Families will have to make decisions on whether to stay in their home country or to take the risk and travel to a new country. Farmers will have to make decisions on whether to take the risk and plant new crops or to find migrant work on farms and the US. Catastrophic events such as earthquakes and hurricanes are not the only risk to farmers. They could face unexpected floods or heat waves. Not only do they depend on the crops for money for their families but also food for their families. People are making the very real choice between starving or risk dying trying to reach the United States.[39] For example, in Guatemala hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country. There is widespread uncertainty about where their next meals will come from. Half of the children are malnourished and have weak bones and bloated bellies.[40] The El Nino storm pattern is expected to increase as global warming persists.[41]
Climate migration disproportionately impacts the global South. Today 1% of the world is a barely livable hot zone. By 2070 that could increase to 19%.[42] Throughout human history people have lived in areas that support abundant food production. Due to climate change, the area that is most productive for food is moving further north globally. More people over the next 50 years will be moving to these areas. One study found that by 2100 temperatures could rise to the point that just going outside for a few hours in some places including parts of India and eastern China will result in death. Naturally people are expected to flee these hot zone areas. In some places, this has already begun.
Violence and War
Climate change is not the only driver of migration to the United States. Another major force pushing people out of their country is danger and real harm at home. In 2015, over 15 million people were forced to flee their homes due to unstable societies and violence.[43] Countries particularly in northern Central America and Mexico have a large amount of drug cartel violence. People make the decision to either risk real harm to their families or to make the dangerous trek across borders to reach the United States. Drug cartels have a lot of power in countries that are overrun by drug activity. The drug cartels have influence in all sectors of government. Therefore, it is difficult to escape their influence unless one leaves the country. People are recruited to participate in the drug cartel and if they do not agree their family can be at risk and their lives are threatened.[44]
According to the US Department of State, the Refugee Act of 1980 the United States has admitted 3.2 million refugees. We are facing global displacement that is unprecedented. Nearly 110 million people are forcibly displaced from their countries. The United Nations estimates that 2 million people need refugee resettlement in a new country. [45]
Economics and Education
America has maintained an image as a land of opportunity. For over a century people have come to America to obtain a better life. As mentioned before climate disaster can have economic implications for people across the globe. However, some migrants move for better jobs and for educational opportunities. Indigenous migrant workers from the Latin America migrate to northern Mexico, the United States, and Canada to work on corporate farms.[46] According to the US Department of Homeland security the United States hosted 1,000,000 international students in the 2019-2020 school year prior to COVID-19. [47] Over half of the international students in 2019 pursued degrees in stem-related fields. Engineering was the leading field for international students followed by math and computer science.[48]
Conclusion
The United States has had waves of immigration since its beginning. Major waves of immigrates were originally from European nations in the mid-1800s. By the mid-1900s most immigrants were from Asian and Latin American countries.[49] The next wave of immigration caused by climate change presents unique challenges. By 2030, the majority of people will live in cities for the first time in history, posing great challenges to newcomers and native citizens.[50] As Bittle states in The Great Displacement, “The process is messier than mere migration, but more profound than mere population turnover; slower than a refugee crisis, but more drastic than a demographic shift.”[51]
Teaching Strategies
The essential question for students to answer throughout the unit will be: Why do people migrate to the United States? Students will be challenged to think about the different situations that cause people to leave their home countries and move to another country. Students will learn about the history of immigration in America and why different groups have moved to the United States over time.
Close Reading
Students will read novels, short stories, and articles about immigration. News articles adapted for kids can be found on resources like Newsela, ReadWorks, and Scholastic News. Students will read closely to make inferences and draw conclusions. Students can take notes using a graphic organizer.
Data Analysis
Using Our World in Data, students will view graphs, charts, and data showing trends in the United States of immigration. Students will view visual representations, maps, and charts about the history of migration and current migration trends. Students will also view and create timelines depicting the major waves of immigration in the United States.
Gallery Walk
A gallery walk is a strategy to preview a new topic or to spark a class discussion. Students will view primary sources of immigration. They will view historical photos of newcomers at Ellis Island, Angel Island, and across the Mexican border. Students can work with a partner or individually as they walk around the room filling in their notetaker sheet. The notetaker sheet should have the images and questions making it simple for students to follow. Teachers can set a timer and have students go to the first station for a set time period. Then when the timer alerts them, they switch and go to the next station and fill out their notetaker. Once all of the students have completed the gallery walk, the class will discuss their questions and answers.
Teaching Activities
What’s in Your Suitcase?
In this activity, students will be given a card with a scenario that will have story. At the end of each short story the character will leave their home to travel to a new country. Each scenario will be set in the past century in order to be sensitive to students who may have recently migrated or have families who have migrated. Students will decide which items are most important to them that they would bring with them if they had to leave their home suddenly. They would write about and describe their items. This activity will build students’ empathy. They will also have to use critical reasoning skills. For instance, many students might say that their video game console is what is most important to them. However, there is no guarantee they would have electricity to play the game, it may take up more space of more relevant items, and they have no idea how long the journey may truly take. Students will grapple with what people have to leave behind in some situations when they migrate to a new land.
Mapping How You Would Travel
Students will be given a card with a scenario. The scenario will be set in the late 1800s or early 1900s. After reading the scenario, students will get create a map showing the route that the people in the scenario card may have taken. The map will be displayed on a poster. In addition to the migration map, students will write the likely reasons that caused the people to migrate to America and the challenges they faced when they arrived.
Writing Prompts
Students will build empathy by writing and journaling using various prompts. Some examples of prompts include:
- Pretend you have moved to a new country. Write a fictional letter to your friend describing the challenges you face in your new home such as overcoming differences, new language, and culture.
- Write a paragraph describing what the word “home” means to you. What makes a place feel like home?
Resources
The History of US Immigration: Data by D’Alessandro, Cathy; Hoffmeister, Noelle
Coming to America Through The Angel Island Immigration Station by Collins, Ailynn
Ellis Island and Immigration of Kids by Daigneau, Jean
We Are a Garden: A Story of How Diversity Took Root in America by Peters, Lisa Westberg
Bibliography
Institute of International Education. 2020. United States Hosts Over 1 Million International Students for the Fifth Consecutive Year. November 16. Accessed 2024. https://www.iie.org/news/2020-open-doors-report/.
Barndt, Deborah. 2002. Tangled Resources: Women, Work, and Globalization on the Tomato Trail. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Bermeo, Sarah. 2018. “Violence drives immigration from Central America.” Brookings. June 26. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/violence-drives-immigration-from-central-america/.
Bittle, Jake. 2023. The Great Displacement. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Blohm, Craig E. 2021. What is the Impact of Climate Change. San Diego, CA: Reference Point Press.
Budiman, Abby. 2020. “Key findings about U.S. immigrants.” The Pew Research Center. August 20. Accessed 2024. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/08/20/key-findings-about-u-s-immigrants/.
Ciardiello, A. Vincent. 2012. “Is Angel Island the Ellis Island of the West? Teaching Multiple Perspective-Taking in American Immigration History.” Social Studies 171-176.
Garcia, Maria Cristina. 2022. ““CONCLUSION.: Moving Forward: Natural Disasters May Be Inevitable; Good U.S. Policy Is Not.”.” In In State of Disaster: The Failure of U.S. Migration Policy in an Age of Climate Change, by MARIA CRISTINA GARCIA, 139–50. University of North Carolina Press.
Gerken, Christina. 2013. “Exclusionary Acts: A Brief History of U.S. Immigration Laws.” In Model Immigrants and Undesirable Aliens, by Christina Gerken, 19-71. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Gillis, A. et al. 2023. “Climate change–induced immigration to the united states has mixed influences on public support for climate change and migrants.” Climatic Change: An Interdisciplinary, International Journal Devoted to the Description, Causes and Implications of Climatic Change, 176.
Goodman, Michael E. 2023. The Refugee Crisis. Mankato: Creative Education and Creative Paperbacks.
King, Russell. 2007. Atlas of Human Migration. Buffalo, New York: Firefly Books.
Lustgarten, Abrahm. 2020. “The Great Climate Migration.” The New York Magazine, July 23.
McDonnell, Time. 2019. “Climate change creates a new migration crisis for Bangladesh.” National Geographic Inc. . January 24. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/climate-change-drives-migration-crisis-in-bangladesh-from-dhaka-sundabans?loggedin=true&rnd=1711254470504.
Mehta, Suketu. 2019. This Land is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Migration Policy Institute. 2024. Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. March 13. Accessed March 22, 2024. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-_mvBhDwARIsAA-Q0Q5vXE3TXLe4sG9NIYWOtVg4qmcT9SxVt2gYVr89Doalw9aPudjsVKUaAigzEALw_wcB.
Noorani, Ali. 2021. Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants. London: Rowman & Littlefield.
Osborne, Linda Barrett. 2016. This Land is Our Land. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.
Poetry Foundation . n.d. “The New Colossus.” The Poetry Foundation . Accessed 2024. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46550/the-new-colossus.
Reimers, David M. 1983. ““An Unintended Reform: The 1965 Immigration Act and Third World Immigration to the United States.”.” ournal of American Ethnic History 9-28.
Shah, Sonia. 2020. The Next Great Migration. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Tienda, Marta, and Susana M. Sanchez. 2013. “Latin American Immigration to the United States.” Daedalus 48-64.
US Department of State. n.d. Refugee Admissions. Accessed 2024. https://www.state.gov/refugee-admissions/.
Appendix on Implementing District Standards
Oklahoma State Standards Social Studies
2.B.4-5.1 Explain the challenges people have faced and the strategies used to address local, regional, or national historical problems.
3.B.4-5.4 Explain how culture, political, and economic actions can influence the ways people modify and adapt to their environment.
4.A.4-5.2 Use information from multiple print or digital sources (e.g. timelines, maps, graphs, political cartoons, images) to answer a question.
Endnotes
[1] (Poetry Foundation n.d.)
[2] (Ciardiello 2012)
[3] (Ciardiello 2012)
[4] (Noorani 2021)
[5] (Migration Policy Institute 2024)
[6] (King 2007)
[7] (King 2007)
[8] (King 2007)
[9] (Gerken 2013)
[10] (King 2007)
[11] (King 2007)
[12] (King 2007)
[13] (King 2007)
[14] (King 2007)
[15] (King 2007)
[16] (King 2007)
[17] (Gerken 2013)
[18] (Gerken 2013)
[19] (Gerken 2013)
[20] (Gerken 2013)
[21] (Gerken 2013)
[22] (Osborne 2016)
[23] (Osborne 2016)
[24] (Osborne 2016)
[25] (Osborne 2016)
[26] (Osborne 2016)
[27] (Gerken 2013)
[28] (Gerken 2013)
[29] (Osborne 2016)
[30] (Osborne 2016)
[31] (Osborne 2016)
[32] (Osborne 2016)
[33] (Gerken 2013)
[34] (Budiman 2020)
[35] (Budiman 2020)
[36] (Garcia 2022)
[37] (Garcia 2022)
[38] (McDonnell 2019)
[39] (Lustgarten 2020)
[40] (Lustgarten 2020)
[41] (Lustgarten 2020)
[42] (Lustgarten 2020)
[43] (Shah 2020)
[44] (Bermeo 2018)
[45] (US Department of State n.d.)
[46] (Barndt 2002)
[47] ( Institute of International Education 2020)
[48] ( Institute of International Education 2020)
[49] (Gerken 2013)
[50] (Shah 2020)
[51] (Bittle 2023)