These lively and stimulating ideas for use in and out of class reinforce active learning. The activities apply to individual or group projects.

Activity 1:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Standards

Direct students to review the 2011 ICE detention standards (https://www.ice.gov/detention-standards/2011), generally, and Section 2.15 Use of Force and Restraints (https://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention-standards/2011/2-15.pdf), specifically.

Using an affective response technique, ask students to react to the description of the guidelines for ICE detention and the use of restrains. As they craft one or two sentence responses, ask students to consider the civil rights of detainees, the ethical considerations of separating families who are detained, and provide reactions to modern concerns about immigration and border protection. Have students take turns sharing their reactions and commenting on the responses of others.

Activity 2:

Journal Writing on ICE Detention Facilities

For this assignment, students will maintain a writing journal over a period of 2–3 weeks to describe how ICE detention facilities are used in the United States. At the outset of the assignment, instruct students to review the Global Detention Project website to gain a general understanding of the extent of the use of immigrant detention facilities in the United States. (https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/americas/united-states).

Using this information as a foundation, have students gather news stories (e.g., print or electronic newspapers, local or national newscasts) about immigrant detainees and the use of detention facilities. Students should maintain a journal with a copy or link to the news story and a paragraph summarizing the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story. Each summary should include an objective assessment of whether the ICE policies are being followed.