Camen, Cuison, Dolfo, Hazelton 1

Alex C., Kamille C., Annabelle D., Morgan H.

Harris
AP Seminar Pd. 3
10 February 2020
TMP Outline

Research Question: What do the difficulties of the immigration process at the U.S.-Mexico
border suggest about a need for voters to be aware of current issues through education and vote
accordingly?

Thesis: Our team solution is to address difficulties faced in the immigration process at the U.S.-
Mexico border by requiring mandatory educational classes for citizens prior to voting to teach
them about current issues and how to vote based on that knowledge. It is necessary to encourage
citizens to vote for humane laws which advocate for the ethical treatment of all peoples as well
as proper government spending.

Background:
• Who: ICE and immigrants from Latin America
• What: The government has passed stricter border polices/enforcement (1986: Congress
passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) which launched a massive
increase in border enforcement.)
• When: Early 2000s to now
• Where: US-Mexico border
• Why: To stop and detain immigrants who are attempting to illegally enter the US
(immigrants entering to find work, because of their social ties, and violence pertaining to
their home country).
• How: Lax medical care, excessive solitary confinement (detention camps); however,
there has been an overall negative impact on immigrant lives as the government fails to
take action to fix the struggles immigrants face in the immigration process.

Establish Problem: (Is it a problem? Why should we care?):

This issue is important to consider for many reasons. First, immigrants are facing detrimental
effects; detention of immigrants and treatment has contributed to many deaths as well as human
rights violations. The treatment of these migrants also speaks to how the US government views
people. They are viewed only as threats and not necessarily humans. If the government is willing
to treat them this way, what does this suggest about how they view their citizens? The repetition
 Camen, Cuison, Dolfo, Hazelton 2

of history is also important to consider as immigration policies have historically stood as a way
to institutionalize racist views; this is something that cannot continue.

Potential Solution (not ours): Reparations

• Pros: Help affected families move on and gain necessary medical attention and start their
life here
• Cons: Funding; Since the government are the ones enforcing these strict policies and
detention camps, they would be unwilling to give money to immigrants.
• Con: Temporary solution to the problem- immigrants would be helped but the problem
would continue

OUR SOLUTION
Thesis: Our team solution is to address difficulties faced in the immigration process at the U.S.-
Mexico border by requiring mandatory educational classes for citizens prior to voting to teach
them about current issues and how to vote based on that knowledge. It is necessary to encourage
citizens to vote for humane laws which advocate for the ethical treatment of all peoples as well
as proper government spending.

• Who: Voters
• What: educate them in order to encourage advocacy for fair treatment
• Why: To stop long term problems at the border and create a less difficult process to enter
the US
• How: mandatory education classes prior to voting?

Subclaim 1: The immigrants are suffering from inhumane treatment at the border detention
camps. (They also die along the way and will be impacted with future health issues)

Evidence 1: In a source citing the Project On Government Oversight, it is stated, “Citing

four detainees in the Adelanto facility who had spent 370 to 904 days in solitary
confinement, the report said that ‘detainees with serious mental health disorders are
routinely - and inappropriately - housed in administrative segregation.’” (Urbina)
Warrant 1: Many mentally ill people at the border are often put into solitary
confinement rather than receiving proper treatment. Just a few days in isolation can
mentally scar someone healthy, so a year could be absolutely detrimental to someone’s
mental health, especially that of a mentally unhealthy person. The frequent use of solitary
confinement violates the 8th amendment, the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment,
because most of the people isolated did not do anything significantly wrong to be put in
what are essentially sensory deprivation chambers.
 Camen, Cuison, Dolfo, Hazelton 3

Evidence 2: “These observers told the press that the children ... were sleeping on
concrete floors and being denied soap and toothpaste. They described ‘children as young
as 7 and 8, many of them wearing clothes caked with snot and tears … caring for infants
they’ve just met’” (Serwer).
Warrant 2: Children are undeserving of harsh treatment, nor are they able to defend
themselves against inhumane treatment. A child should never suffer the way the ones at
the border do, regardless of behavior. This shows unacceptable treatment of human life
and demonstrates how little our current government is invested in the lives of people.

Counterclaim 1: Immigrants deserve treatment and difficulties because of illegal crossings and
bad effects on the US
Dismissal: Immigrants have a positive effect on the US economy and low crime rates.
They are normal people who lives their lives just like any other citizen of the United
States and should be treated accordingly, as a human, not a criminal.
"First, increased Mexican immigration led to natives working in safer environments and
can explain 26 percent of the improvement in occupational risk among natives. Second,
Mexican immigration led to fewer [worker’s compensation] claims among non-Mexican
workers” (Dillender and McInerney).
Fitz and Wolgin point out that “...legal immigrants will add, net of what they take out,
$611 billion to America’s Social Security system over the next 75 years” (Tichenor et al.
231).

Subclaim 2: The cost/funding towards detaining migrants and enforcing border control is a
waste of money.

Evidence 1: “Since the creation of DHS in 2003, ICE spending has more than doubled,
from $3.3 billion to $7.6 billion today... Much of this funding has gone to increasing the
agency’s ability to hold immigrants in detention in locations around the country” (“The
Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security”)

Additionally, in 2018, the number of beds in ICE’s detention centers were at an all-time
high; ICE detained more than 9,000 people above the number that had been accounted for
by Congress’s budget (“The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security”).

Warrant 1: Immigration detention requires increasing funds as numbers of detainees

exceed accommodations made by Congress. This shows that the migrants are being
detained at high volumes, which is causing overcrowding and further health issues.
Without the funds to properly care for these people, further problems will arise with
increased detainments. It is important to avoid these growing costs by changing
 Camen, Cuison, Dolfo, Hazelton 4

immigration policy and processes. Advocacy of immigrant rights is necessary to stop this
overflowing system and instead decrease detainment numbers.

Evidence 2: Border policies have “led migrants to seek new routes to get to the United
States, avoiding areas that since the mid-1990s have become more actively patrolled with
border fences, technology, and personnel,” (Alonso and Nienass 422).
Warrant 2: The highly patrolled areas are ineffective in the sense that it will become a
more complicated process in capturing illegal immigrants. Rather than the stronger
border enforcement stopping illegal immigration, it has just led to people to still
attempting to enter the US. Immigrants would avoid these areas, go through new routes,
and the border patrol must find these tracks into which they are entering from and finally
detain them. Moreover, new innovations have put immigrants at risk. By blocking off
areas, people are more likely to be found and get put into custody even if they are
following legal procedures.

Counterclaim 2: It’s necessary to ensure safety of citizens by stopping immigration. The

government does not know whether these immigrants are coming into the US with good
intentions; therefore, they will enforce stronger policies to stop any possible harm.
Dismissal: Even though some immigrants may have bad intentions coming into the US,
these strict policies have led to worse things than them entering the US illegally, rather it
has led to many immigrants dying along the way. Since people find new ways to avoid
border patrol and still try to enter the US, they must go through harsh environmental
conditions. Because of this, they will most likely be too weak to go on, especially if some
are already facing health issues. The government is aware of these deaths and usually
blame it on the environment (Alonso and Nienass 422-423). The government is still
causing harm with these policies, especially on immigrant lives, as they do not want to
take responsibility. Instead, they use the environment as an excuse to cover that their
border policies may be the issue. Overall, this calls for a movement to educate voters
because if nothing is done, immigrants will continue to die. And voters are the ones who
can make the most change, as they will be taught about issues and vote for laws to be
enacted to encourage advocacy for fair treatment.

Restate claim: Although certain groups of people believe immigrants pose a

threat to the health of the United States, in truth they are beneficial to the
economy and should be treated with the respect and dignity any person deserves.
Our solution remains the best choice of action, as it encourages citizens to make
informed votes which will benefit the country and promote humane policies.
 Camen, Cuison, Dolfo, Hazelton 5

Work Cited
“The Cost of Immigration Enforcement and Border Security.” American Immigration Council,

14 Oct. 2019, americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/the-cost-of-immigration-

enforcement-and-border-security. Accessed 9 Jan. 2020.

Dillender, Marcus and Melissa McInerney. “The Role of Mexican Immigration to the United

States in Improved Workplace Safety for Natives from 1980 to 2015” Journal of Health

Economics. 26 Dec. 2019. ScienceDirect, 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2019.102280. Accessed 11

Jan. 2020.

Massey, Douglas S., et al. “Border Enforcement and Return Migration by Documented and

Undocumented Mexicans.” Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies. vol. 41, no. 7, 1 June

2015, pp. 1015-1040. Advanced Placement Source, doi:

10.1080/1369183X.2014.986079. Accessed 6 Jan. 2020.

Nowrasteh, Alex. “8 People Died in Immigration Detention in 2019, 193 Since 2004.” Cato

Institute, 8 Jan. 2020, cato.org/blog/8-people-died-immigration-detention-2019-193-

2004. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020.

Serwer, Adam. “A Crime by Any Name.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 6 Nov. 2019,

theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/border-facilities/593239/. Accessed 7 Jan. 2020.

Nancy Friedman, Stuart Grassian. “Effects of Sensory Deprivation in Psychiatric seclusion and
Solitary Confinement.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, vol. 8, 1985, pp. 49
–65.
 Camen, Cuison, Dolfo, Hazelton 6

DIVISION OF LABOR:
WHO: IN CHARGE OF...
Kamille • Background info
• (Subclaim 2: Evidence 2 and Warrant 2), Counterclaim 2 and Dismissal
Morgan • Research Question, Research in Context
• Counterclaim 1 and Dismissal
• Introduces Subclaim 2 --> (Subclaim 2: Evidence 1 and Warrant 1)
Alex • Thesis
• Subclaim 1: Evidence 3 and Warrant 3
• Other Potential Solution
AnnaBelle • Subclaim 1: Evidence 1 and 2 and Warrant 1 and 2
• Restate Claim
• Everyone can work on the work cited and cite their own sources.
• Everyone can fix the text font, size, background, set up, etc.

SCHEDULE:

Tuesday: Finish thesis, subclaims, and counterclaims. Establish division of labor

Wednesday: Complete evidence and warrant. Begin making powerpoint

Thursday: Fill in any missing gaps in both outline and powerpoint. Start making notecards

Friday: Complete notecards. PRACTICE AFTER SCHOOL

Saturday/Sunday: PRACTICE x100, write down responses to oral defense questions and
PRACTICE ANSWERING

Monday: Turn in powerpoint. Make any necessary changes. PRACTICE IN CLASS AND
AFTER SCHOOL

Tuesday/Wednesday: PRESENT 3RD ON TUESDAY!!! 🙁