Topic: Immigration, Politics, and Justice

Catalog description

This course addresses contemporary political debates over immigration and justice. Should the United States “Build the Wall,” restricting people’s movement at and around the U.S.- Mexico border and at points of entry such as airports? Other questions specific to U.S policy and politics might include: Is restricting immigration “un-America”? Does the history of America exclusion and discrimination in immigration policy and law provide precedents for restrictions today? Should the children of undocumented immigrants have birthright citizenship if born on American soil? Is amnesty justified? Another set of questions will investigate what principles of justice regarding immigration apply generally to countries around the world. These might include: Should religion or ethnicity ever play a role in formulating migration policy? What obligations are owed towards refugees? Should people be able to freely move across borders? Does maintaining cultural integrity, democratic stability. liberal values, economics concerns, and/or national security justify restrictions on immigration? What, if anything, justifies the use of force to keep people off our land? What, if anything, makes a territory “ours”? Finally, America immigration policies and politics will be compare to and contrasted with those of Europe and other countries.