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Lesson Plan :

Lesson Plan Tereza Lee and Undocumented Asian America

  • Grade Level 6th-12th Grade
  • Time Period 2010 - Present
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Introduction

11.3 million is the estimated number of undocumented immigrants lived in the United States in 2018. Of these, about 3.6 million entered the U.S. before their 18th birthday. This latter group, the Dreamers, have been advocating for a path towards legal residency and citizenship since 2001. This lesson will explore the origins of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM Act) and connect the story of Tereza Lee, the first DREAMer, and the current struggles of others like her against possible family separation and deportation.
Objectives:

  • Students will trace the development of immigration laws in the United States, and contextualize the DREAM Act within this broader historical trajectory.
  • Students will deconstruct and analyze implicit conceptions—their own and those of others—of who is and is not an American.
  • Students will gain an understanding of the diversity of the U.S. undocumented immigrant population.

Essential Questions

  • In what ways did the general lack of public knowledge around undocumented Asian Americans and their stories affect Tereza Lee? In what ways may it have protected her? In what ways did it increase her vulnerability?

  • What is Senator Dick Durbin’s point of view on undocumented immigrants like Tereza Lee?

  • What impact did the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the United States have on the DREAM Act? In what ways do we see that impact continue until today?

  • Why do you think the DREAM Act focused on young undocumented students who had been brought to the country as minors? In what ways do they change the prevailing perceptions about undocumented immigration?

  • Who is American? What does it mean to be American? Does being documented or undocumented affect this view?