Immigration rights have been an issue in the U.S. since 1607 when British settlers began to arrive in search of religious freedom and economic opportunity. Over 98% of the 320 million people that live in the U.S. are descendants of immigrants. How have immigration rights changed over time and what rights do immigrants have now?    

In the Winter of 2016, CUP collaborated with Teaching Artist Meredith Degyansky and Alhassan Susso’s History class at the International Community High School in the Bronx to investigate immigration rights.

Students created skits about the changes in human rights throughout U.S. history, surveyed community members on their opinions of immigration rights, and interviewed Tania Mattos of UnLocal, Inc. about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Students presented their findings through a live debate and created this poster to share what they discovered.

Get your own poster here!

What People are Saying

“When we went back into the class with the final product, the class was asked to present the project to other students who have not been part of a CUP project. This was amazing! I was shocked that the students remembered essentially every activity and nugget of information we had experienced together throughout the class. Every student seemed very proud of their experience and that they could teach other students about what they learned.” – Meredith Degyansky, Teaching Artist

“The project connected to my core curriculum perfectly. We were attempting to answer the question: Should individual freedom be limited during times of a national security crisis? This project gave my students a lens into answering that question with an understanding from the immigrant perspective.” – Alhassan Susso, classroom teacher

Resources & Links

International Community High School is a progressive public high school in the South Bronx for English Language Learners.

Funding Support

This project was made possible by the Bay and Paul Foundations and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support was provided by Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Special Thanks

Celine Berger, Mariana Bomtempo, Claire Duvernet, Tania Mattos, Aimee VonBokel

Participants

  • CUP
  • Teaching Artist
  • Meredith Degyansky

    • Project Lead
    • Jenn Anne Williams
    • Project Support
    • Christy Herbes
    • The International Community High School

    • Students
    • Medelin Abreu

      Alpha Bah

      Yerling Bonilla

      Fatou Boye

      Jeffry Calcano

      Rubelina Castillo Luzon

      Mamegor Diaw

      Kulsuma Dulon

      Kelvin Ferreiras

      Katherine Garcia

      Jenmary Germosen Lima

      Keilly Guzman

      Cristina Jara

      Jordy Jerez

      Cheikh Kebe

      Fode Konate

      Karlin Mendez

      Halal Miah

      Jean Mieses

      Ana Minaya

      Erika Moran

      Adama Ndiaye

      Wilson Pena

      Mercedes Perdomo

      Dalmiris Polonia Gonzale

      Darlyn Rodriguez

      Nasser Shami

      John Anthony Suero

      Jeffersonadrian Torres

      Elvin Zapata

    • Classroom Teacher
    • Alhassan Susso