An Immodest Proposal
Part 5- Reflection
- To what extent did I choose an issue that I genuinely care about?
2. How does my proposal align with my own strengths, interests, especially in light of what I’m thinking about doing for my action project for Senior Project?
My proposal doesn’t exactly align with my current strengths as I am not a lawyer, and I also don’t completely understand the legal jargon in the documents. However, I am very interest in politics and law and how that affects people so I hope to continue to learn more about that. I’m not quite sure what I want to do for my action project, but I do want to work with the ACLU on these issues.
3. What did I learn from this process that will help me with my senior project?
I learned how to make a good outline to follow for a project. I was able to make a good timeline to follow so that I could get my work done. I didn’t start too well and didn’t use my time wisely, but once I started following my timeline I was able to get my work done. This will be important for senior project because we will have a lot of time for it and if I don’t follow a timeline I will end up scrambling.
4. What was the most valuable/informative/interesting part of this assignment?
The most valuable and interesting part of the assignment for me was the issue research and the cover letter. I learned so much from the research I did and I have a much better understanding of a topic I’ve been following for years. I think this shows that I need to be a better activist and better study the things I protest about. The cover letter was valuable because I was able to practice doing MLA format and I got to write out everything I learned. I also got a better understanding of how to write rhetorical arguments which was something I have never learned how to do.
5. What could it is one thing I could have done to improve this project the most?
I wish I hadn’t wasted so much time during the issue research. I defiantly didn’t follow my timeline at the beginning of the project and I didn’t get enough research in. I also found some great things later in the project process that I could explore fully because I didn’t have enough time.
Part 4- Proposal
Proposal Summary:
I’m proposing to file a complaint representing a person who has experienced family separation and who is not currently being represented in the ACLU’s case action case.
Audience:
The audience would be the US District Court in Durango, CO.
Rationale:
The issue of family separation has been a hot topic in American politics recently. With the end of the zero-tolerance policy, some family’s are still experiencing separation (Jordan). Not to mention the children who have already been separated have not yet been reunited with their families. The act of separating families is already despicable and the fact that some have not been reunited is heartbreaking. Families shouldn’t have to wait another minute to see each other again. Filing a complaint in a foreign land with a language one might not speak is extremely difficult, so by doing it for them, I would alleviate those obstacles.
Outline:
Step 1:
Step 2: Find a client who has not been represented
Step 3:
Step 4:
Jordan, Miriam. “No More Family Separations, Except These 900.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/migrant-family-separations.html.
I’m proposing to file a complaint representing a person who has experienced family separation and who is not currently being represented in the ACLU’s case action case.
Audience:
The audience would be the US District Court in Durango, CO.
Rationale:
The issue of family separation has been a hot topic in American politics recently. With the end of the zero-tolerance policy, some family’s are still experiencing separation (Jordan). Not to mention the children who have already been separated have not yet been reunited with their families. The act of separating families is already despicable and the fact that some have not been reunited is heartbreaking. Families shouldn’t have to wait another minute to see each other again. Filing a complaint in a foreign land with a language one might not speak is extremely difficult, so by doing it for them, I would alleviate those obstacles.
Outline:
Step 1:
- Do research to understand how the system works (probably would need law school, good thing this is just a thought experiment)
- Create criteria for the type of client to represent
Step 2: Find a client who has not been represented
- Gain an understanding of their predicament and see how it can be fitted to a legal complaint
- See if they fit the criteria
- If they fit the criteria then accept them, if they don’t refer them to someone else and look for another person
- If they fit the criteria then accept them, if they don’t refer them to someone else and look for another person
Step 3:
- Once a client is found file the complaint
- Go to court if needed
Step 4:
- Continue to represent the client until they are reunited with their child
Jordan, Miriam. “No More Family Separations, Except These 900.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/migrant-family-separations.html.
Part 3- Approach Analysis
Step 1: My Chosen Approach:
Generally: The issue of children being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border
Specific Approach: The American Civil Liberties Union v. The Trump Administration Source:https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/family-separation
Step 2: Research
Background:
The American Civil Liberties Union works to protect the freedom and liberties of people and groups in the US. They work with the legislature and in courtrooms to represent people would are being silenced or marginalized. They will also represent unpopular groups such as the Ku Klux Klan so that no one’s voice is silenced despite not agreeing with the message (ACLU).
Are They Effective?:
Yes, they go to the Public and the Supreme Court to represent people who may be marginalized by the government. They have also won major cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Methods:
The ACLU represented a woman named Ms. L when her seven-year-old daughter was taken from her at the border. Eventually, the cases turned into a class action case that represented hundreds of other families (Shoichet). The case is officially called Ms. L v. ICE. Where there are repeated motions of requests to disclose the number of children detained, motions to make a classwide injunction, and the original complaint. The entire process is through the court system and is effective in not only raising awareness of the issue at the time but also to help families who have been separated.
Part 3 Analysis:
What I Love:
I like that it’s a class action case that represents more than one person. I also like that there are multiple amendments and motions that fully define the issue and request to fix them. I also love that they have been effective.
What I don’t Like:
It’s long and hard to understand and will take time to figure out what each complaint and motion means. It’s also hard to gauge the full impact of the case, however, it looks like it’s big. I’m also not sure how to implement this into my own proposal.
How Will I Use This?:
I will probably write my proposal in the way a motion or complaint is filed in order to mirror what the ACLU is doing with Ms. L v. ICE.
Generally: The issue of children being separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border
Specific Approach: The American Civil Liberties Union v. The Trump Administration Source:https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/family-separation
Step 2: Research
Background:
The American Civil Liberties Union works to protect the freedom and liberties of people and groups in the US. They work with the legislature and in courtrooms to represent people would are being silenced or marginalized. They will also represent unpopular groups such as the Ku Klux Klan so that no one’s voice is silenced despite not agreeing with the message (ACLU).
Are They Effective?:
Yes, they go to the Public and the Supreme Court to represent people who may be marginalized by the government. They have also won major cases such as Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
Methods:
The ACLU represented a woman named Ms. L when her seven-year-old daughter was taken from her at the border. Eventually, the cases turned into a class action case that represented hundreds of other families (Shoichet). The case is officially called Ms. L v. ICE. Where there are repeated motions of requests to disclose the number of children detained, motions to make a classwide injunction, and the original complaint. The entire process is through the court system and is effective in not only raising awareness of the issue at the time but also to help families who have been separated.
Part 3 Analysis:
What I Love:
I like that it’s a class action case that represents more than one person. I also like that there are multiple amendments and motions that fully define the issue and request to fix them. I also love that they have been effective.
What I don’t Like:
It’s long and hard to understand and will take time to figure out what each complaint and motion means. It’s also hard to gauge the full impact of the case, however, it looks like it’s big. I’m also not sure how to implement this into my own proposal.
How Will I Use This?:
I will probably write my proposal in the way a motion or complaint is filed in order to mirror what the ACLU is doing with Ms. L v. ICE.
Part 2-Cover Letter
“Papa? Papa? No quiero que lo deporten. I want to go with my aunt, I have her number, I have her number memorized, 3472 (Thompson)”. According to journalist Ginger Thompson of ProPublica, “More than 2,300 [children] have been separated from their parents since April, when the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which calls for prosecuting all people who attempt to illegally enter the country and taking away the children they brought with them.” The idea of being ripped away from a parent at a young age is sickening. Children see parents as a source of comfort or strength, and for that to be taken away in an unknown land that speaks a language they don’t understand is truly devastating. According to CNN, the “zero tolerance” policy was meant to be a deterrent for immigrant families who dare think to cross our borders. As Jeff Sessions summarized it best “If you're smuggling a child, we're going to prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you, probably, as required by law. If you don't want your child to be separated, then don't bring them across the border illegally (Schoichet).” It’s clear that the Trump administration has been knowingly separating children from their parents at the border for almost two years. Many of these children are young and cannot possibly be expected to take care of themselves without a loving parent to guide them. Our country is the most powerful in the world, a beacon for other countries to model themselves after. Yet, those who lead our great country knowingly and willingly commit inhumane acts in the name of security.
Trump tells us that separating families is an inherited practice from the Obama administration, it’s not (Qiu). However, the US has a long and painful history of inhumane acts like family separation. According to CNN, slave owners would split up families as punishment or for money. During the westward expansion through the mid-twentieth century, Native American children were taken from their homes and families to be placed into boarding schools. The intention being to “kill the Indian, save the man.” During WWII we removed our own citizens (Japanese-Americans) and imprisoned them in Interment camps in the name of security (Kaur). Today these detention centers eerily resemble that of the Japanese Interment camps. For a child, being jailed away from their parents in an unknown land has a devastating effect on their mental health.
According to a study by Maria L. Santa-Maria and Thomas Cornille, when a child has been separated from the parents, they have severe attachment anxiety. They are also more prone to PTSD. In a devastating interview featured on Last Week Tonight a mother discloses how her son does not believe his mother loves him anymore and that he is no longer her son. It’s heartbreaking to hear those words come from a six-year-old as a result of trauma due to being separated from his mother. When we cause trauma like this among young future citizens, we could create a generation of broken people.
We the people preach the American Dream and that anyone can achieve it, with the fine print saying “as long as you were born here.” Surely every citizen can concur that caging children is unjust when their only crime is seeking an opportunity to share in the American Dream. Many of the people who cross the border are fleeing danger, should we not show compassion to our fellow humans? The Dali Lama believes that true justice is compassion. On the outside, one might argue that to be too compassionate is to be weak. The last thing any country wants to appear as is weak. However, we must show compassion to our fellow man and aid them in a time of need instead of prolonging and worsening their ordeal. Anyone’s heart would shatter when they hear the cries of those children. No one can argue against having sympathy for those children’s predicament. We must keep families together and have empathy for the situation when they seek asylum. Only when we are compassionate can we have a just society built by the people who sought to make the American Dream a reality.
Works Cited
Jordan, Miriam. “No More Family Separations, Except These 900.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/migrant-family-separations.html.
Kaur, Harmeet. “Actually, the US Has a Long History of Separating Families.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 June 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/06/24/us/us- long-history-of-separating-families-trnd/index.html.
Oliver, John, director. Family Separation. Last Week Tonight, Home Box Office, 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygVX1z6tDGI.
Qiu, Linda. “Fact-Checking Trump's Claim That He Didn't Start Family Separations at Border.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/politics/fact-check-trump-family-separation.html.
Santa-Maria, Maria L., and Thomas Cornille. “Traumatic Stress, Family Separations, and Attachment among Latin American Immigrants.” Traumatology, vol. 13, no. 2, 2007, pp. 26–31., doi:10.1177/1534765607302278.
Shoichet, Catherine. “'Zero Tolerance' a Year Later: How the US Family Separations Crisis Erupted.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2019, www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/04/us/immigrant-family-separations-timeline/.
Steel, Zachary, et al. “Impact of Immigration Detention and Temporary Protection on the Mental Health of Refugees.” British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 188, no. 1, 2006, pp. 58–64., doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.104.007864.
team, Reality Check. “US Border: Who Decided to Separate Families?” BBC News, BBC, 26 June 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44303556.
Thompson, Ginger. “Listen to Children Who've Just Been Separated From Their Parents at the Border.” ProPublica, 9 Mar. 2019, www.propublica.org/article/children-separated-from-parents-border-patrol-cbp-trump-immigration-policy.
Trump tells us that separating families is an inherited practice from the Obama administration, it’s not (Qiu). However, the US has a long and painful history of inhumane acts like family separation. According to CNN, slave owners would split up families as punishment or for money. During the westward expansion through the mid-twentieth century, Native American children were taken from their homes and families to be placed into boarding schools. The intention being to “kill the Indian, save the man.” During WWII we removed our own citizens (Japanese-Americans) and imprisoned them in Interment camps in the name of security (Kaur). Today these detention centers eerily resemble that of the Japanese Interment camps. For a child, being jailed away from their parents in an unknown land has a devastating effect on their mental health.
According to a study by Maria L. Santa-Maria and Thomas Cornille, when a child has been separated from the parents, they have severe attachment anxiety. They are also more prone to PTSD. In a devastating interview featured on Last Week Tonight a mother discloses how her son does not believe his mother loves him anymore and that he is no longer her son. It’s heartbreaking to hear those words come from a six-year-old as a result of trauma due to being separated from his mother. When we cause trauma like this among young future citizens, we could create a generation of broken people.
We the people preach the American Dream and that anyone can achieve it, with the fine print saying “as long as you were born here.” Surely every citizen can concur that caging children is unjust when their only crime is seeking an opportunity to share in the American Dream. Many of the people who cross the border are fleeing danger, should we not show compassion to our fellow humans? The Dali Lama believes that true justice is compassion. On the outside, one might argue that to be too compassionate is to be weak. The last thing any country wants to appear as is weak. However, we must show compassion to our fellow man and aid them in a time of need instead of prolonging and worsening their ordeal. Anyone’s heart would shatter when they hear the cries of those children. No one can argue against having sympathy for those children’s predicament. We must keep families together and have empathy for the situation when they seek asylum. Only when we are compassionate can we have a just society built by the people who sought to make the American Dream a reality.
Works Cited
Jordan, Miriam. “No More Family Separations, Except These 900.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/migrant-family-separations.html.
Kaur, Harmeet. “Actually, the US Has a Long History of Separating Families.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 June 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/06/24/us/us- long-history-of-separating-families-trnd/index.html.
Oliver, John, director. Family Separation. Last Week Tonight, Home Box Office, 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygVX1z6tDGI.
Qiu, Linda. “Fact-Checking Trump's Claim That He Didn't Start Family Separations at Border.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/politics/fact-check-trump-family-separation.html.
Santa-Maria, Maria L., and Thomas Cornille. “Traumatic Stress, Family Separations, and Attachment among Latin American Immigrants.” Traumatology, vol. 13, no. 2, 2007, pp. 26–31., doi:10.1177/1534765607302278.
Shoichet, Catherine. “'Zero Tolerance' a Year Later: How the US Family Separations Crisis Erupted.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2019, www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/04/us/immigrant-family-separations-timeline/.
Steel, Zachary, et al. “Impact of Immigration Detention and Temporary Protection on the Mental Health of Refugees.” British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 188, no. 1, 2006, pp. 58–64., doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.104.007864.
team, Reality Check. “US Border: Who Decided to Separate Families?” BBC News, BBC, 26 June 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44303556.
Thompson, Ginger. “Listen to Children Who've Just Been Separated From Their Parents at the Border.” ProPublica, 9 Mar. 2019, www.propublica.org/article/children-separated-from-parents-border-patrol-cbp-trump-immigration-policy.
Part 1- Issue Research
Family Separation at the Border
Research Questions:
March 6-John Kelly indicates that if parents continued to bring their kids, they will be separated as a deterrent
July-Separation as a policy begins
2018
February 26- ACLU files class action lawsuit for families that have been separated
April 6- Jeff Sessions announces through a memo that there is a Zero Tolerance policy
May-June-The is no way to track families and protests erupt
June 20- Trump signs executive order to maintain family unity however families who are separated have no way of reuniting
June 26- Judge presiding over the class action filed by the ACLU orders the government to reunite families
July 26- Hundreds of parents have been deported without their children and te government must reunite them
August-November- More families were separated than the administration acknowledged
December- zero-tolerance essentially renamed and separations continue
2019
January 17- Health and Human Services inspector general reports that thousands of children have been separated
March 8- Judge requires government to find all children who have been separated
April 7- Kristjen Nielson resigns
2. Has this happened before in another administration?
The short answer is No. Trump claims that Obama had the same policy in place however this is not true according to the New York Times. The BBC confirms that Trump introduced the family separation policy and not the Obama Administration
Not only have children of illegal immigrants have been separated but children of asylum seekers as well
Clinton signed Flores Settlement law that required unaccompanied minors to be released to their parents
Bush required that minors be taken out of immigration centers if unaccompanied for more than 72 hours
However, the US has a long history of separating families
According to CNN the US would separate enslaved families for a number of reasons including for money or punishment
In 1819 congress passed the Civilization fund act which gave funding for Native American boarding schools. This allowed religious associations to take children away from their parents and “kill the Indian, save the man”
The government in 1902 essentially ordered the destruction of Native culture
During the Great Depression, there was a mass deportation of Mexican Immigrants and children were often citizens and left behind with spouses
During WWII
FDR signed an executive order that allowed the military to exclude citizens from certain areas
Japanese Americans were deemed enemies of the state and taken to internment camps where the conditions of the camps have been compared to the conditions of where migrant children are being detained
3. How does separation affect families?
Policies of detention and separation are detrimental to the mental health of refugees according to
PTSD Was found to be higher in children who were separated from their families
However, the family separation did not impact severity or number of symptoms of mental health issues it did, however, have a significant effect on attachment anxiety
4. What has happened since the policy ended
According to the BBC, children are still being separated at the border despite the policy ending
It appears that more children are being separated according to the New York Times
Works Cited
Jordan, Miriam. “No More Family Separations, Except These 900.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/migrant-family-separations.html.
Kaur, Harmeet. “Actually, the US Has a Long History of Separating Families.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 June 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/06/24/us/us-long-history-of-separating-families-trnd/index.html.
Qiu, Linda. “Fact-Checking Trump's Claim That He Didn't Start Family Separations at Border.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/politics/fact-check-trump-family-separation.html.
Santa-Maria, Maria L., and Thomas Cornille. “Traumatic Stress, Family Separations, and Attachment among Latin American Immigrants.” Traumatology, vol. 13, no. 2, 2007, pp. 26–31., doi:10.1177/1534765607302278.
Shoichet, Catherine. “'Zero Tolerance' a Year Later: How the US Family Separations Crisis Erupted.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2019, www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/04/us/immigrant-family-separations-timeline/.
Steel, Zachary, et al. “Impact of Immigration Detention and Temporary Protection on the Mental Health of Refugees.” British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 188, no. 1, 2006, pp. 58–64., doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.104.007864.
team, Reality Check. “US Border: Who Decided to Separate Families?” BBC News, BBC, 26 June 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44303556.
Research Questions:
- What is the timeline of family separation at the border?
March 6-John Kelly indicates that if parents continued to bring their kids, they will be separated as a deterrent
July-Separation as a policy begins
2018
February 26- ACLU files class action lawsuit for families that have been separated
April 6- Jeff Sessions announces through a memo that there is a Zero Tolerance policy
May-June-The is no way to track families and protests erupt
June 20- Trump signs executive order to maintain family unity however families who are separated have no way of reuniting
June 26- Judge presiding over the class action filed by the ACLU orders the government to reunite families
July 26- Hundreds of parents have been deported without their children and te government must reunite them
August-November- More families were separated than the administration acknowledged
December- zero-tolerance essentially renamed and separations continue
2019
January 17- Health and Human Services inspector general reports that thousands of children have been separated
March 8- Judge requires government to find all children who have been separated
April 7- Kristjen Nielson resigns
2. Has this happened before in another administration?
The short answer is No. Trump claims that Obama had the same policy in place however this is not true according to the New York Times. The BBC confirms that Trump introduced the family separation policy and not the Obama Administration
Not only have children of illegal immigrants have been separated but children of asylum seekers as well
Clinton signed Flores Settlement law that required unaccompanied minors to be released to their parents
Bush required that minors be taken out of immigration centers if unaccompanied for more than 72 hours
However, the US has a long history of separating families
According to CNN the US would separate enslaved families for a number of reasons including for money or punishment
In 1819 congress passed the Civilization fund act which gave funding for Native American boarding schools. This allowed religious associations to take children away from their parents and “kill the Indian, save the man”
The government in 1902 essentially ordered the destruction of Native culture
During the Great Depression, there was a mass deportation of Mexican Immigrants and children were often citizens and left behind with spouses
During WWII
FDR signed an executive order that allowed the military to exclude citizens from certain areas
Japanese Americans were deemed enemies of the state and taken to internment camps where the conditions of the camps have been compared to the conditions of where migrant children are being detained
3. How does separation affect families?
Policies of detention and separation are detrimental to the mental health of refugees according to
PTSD Was found to be higher in children who were separated from their families
However, the family separation did not impact severity or number of symptoms of mental health issues it did, however, have a significant effect on attachment anxiety
4. What has happened since the policy ended
According to the BBC, children are still being separated at the border despite the policy ending
It appears that more children are being separated according to the New York Times
Works Cited
Jordan, Miriam. “No More Family Separations, Except These 900.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/07/30/us/migrant-family-separations.html.
Kaur, Harmeet. “Actually, the US Has a Long History of Separating Families.” CNN, Cable News Network, 25 June 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/06/24/us/us-long-history-of-separating-families-trnd/index.html.
Qiu, Linda. “Fact-Checking Trump's Claim That He Didn't Start Family Separations at Border.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/us/politics/fact-check-trump-family-separation.html.
Santa-Maria, Maria L., and Thomas Cornille. “Traumatic Stress, Family Separations, and Attachment among Latin American Immigrants.” Traumatology, vol. 13, no. 2, 2007, pp. 26–31., doi:10.1177/1534765607302278.
Shoichet, Catherine. “'Zero Tolerance' a Year Later: How the US Family Separations Crisis Erupted.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2019, www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/04/us/immigrant-family-separations-timeline/.
Steel, Zachary, et al. “Impact of Immigration Detention and Temporary Protection on the Mental Health of Refugees.” British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 188, no. 1, 2006, pp. 58–64., doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.104.007864.
team, Reality Check. “US Border: Who Decided to Separate Families?” BBC News, BBC, 26 June 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44303556.