Reading Assignments for Essay 4 - How to Deal with the Recent Surge of Migrant Children into the US?

Length: 1500 words minimum (please include a word count at the end of your paper)

Assignment

President Obama is asking Congress for emergency funding as the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has been rising at an alarming rate. Fleeing poverty and gang violence, motivated in part by rumors that they will gain legal status but now trapped in a legal limbo, many of the young migrants are making the dangerous journey from Central America. What can be done to stem the surge of children illegally crossing into the U.S.? And how does this crisis fit into the larger debate for comprehensive immigration reform?

For this assignment you will have to first outline the controversy in the public debate about the status and future of the migrant children. Please make sure that you explain ALL sides of the argument trying to understand what stand at the core of the opposition between various views. Then present your own stand in the debate using strong and compelling evidence. Finally, in your conclusion, try to suggest some kind of solution to the problem based on your argumentation.


Here is the link to your assigned reading for this essay:

“How To Stop the Surge of Migrant Children,” ROOM FOR DEBATE, The New York Times Online, July 8 2014