FRS 001 — Sec. 002
— (1 unit) — CRN 25989 — W 1:10-2:00pm — 111 Wellman
Formulating an Immigration Policy
Instructor: Norman Matloff, Department of Computer Science, College
of Engineering
Description: Immigration is a highly controversial subject,
with much heat but little light from either side. In this class, through discussion
and careful research, the students will formulate their own ideal policy on
immigration issues, concerning both legal immigration (family immigration, work
visas, welfare policies, etc.) and undocumented migration.
Format: In the first meeting of the quarter, I will set a list
of various aspects of immigration policy, and we will decide which ones to examine.
For each topic, I will assign a group of students to research the topic. I will
suggest questions to be addressed and resources for them to use. Each class
will consist of group discussions. During those discussions, numerous questions
of fact will arise, many of them related to perceptions among the populace and
claims made by those who wish to restrict or expand immigration. For any such
question, the relevant group is then assigned to research the issue and present
their findings during the next class. I will insist on solid research sources,
primarily from academia but also from reputable research institutes, for example
the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, the Urban Institute and the Center for Immigration
Studies. And as a former statistics professor, I will require that the resources
have substantial quantitative content, but I will also stress the importance
of knowing what the data really mean. Each student will write a final paper,
summarizing his/her own ideal policy on the issues discussed. (The students
hopefully will reach consensus on policy, but need not do so.) Grading:
Written work, 80% (40% €nal paper about five or six pages, 40% earlier one-page
papers): This reflects quality of research, argumentation and exposition. Class
participation, 20%: All I will ask for in this is continuing evidence, through
the student’s comments in class, that the student has been giving serious
thought to the issues being discussed in class.
Prerequisites: There are no course prerequisites. However,
it is assumed that the students are: willing to participate in class discussions;
willing to respect the points of view of others; and willing to use computers
extensively in the course (e-mail, word processing, Web access).
About the Instructor: Prof. Matloff has written extensively on immigration issues, and is considered a national expert on two aspects of immigration in particular, namely the H-1B work visa and welfare usage by elderly immigrants. His law review article on H-1B (N. Matloff, ”On the Need for Reform of the H-1B Non-immigrant Work Visa in Computer-Related Occupations,” University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, Fall 2003, 815-914) is the most extensive academic work extant on that topic. His advice on these issues has been sought by the Clinton White House, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the State of California Little Hoover Commission, and so on. He has presented invited testimony on several occasions to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and the California State Legislature. A speaker of Chinese, he has been active in the Chinese immigrant community for 30 years.