Taquara Branch — Prepared by Natália Guerreiro

Immigration
Immigration Debate in America Debate in America
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
Teacher: ______________________________ Level: _____________ Date: ____/ ____ / _____

1. Complete the video script with the gambits from the box.

Indian 1: Chief, every day our borders are being crossed by uninvited foreigners. We have to do
something.
Buffalo: Well, ________________, and hey ____________________________, I say we shoot them all
in their head, make jackets out of their skin and then leave their carcasses to rot in the sun.
Chief: Er… OK.
Hugs With Trees: Well, _________ we welcome them. They’re good for the economy, they gave us this
comfy blankets, and ____________, _______________________ they don’t like firewater?
Chief: Didn’t they kill your entire family in a rage last week?
Hugs With Trees: OK, _________________ there are some cultural differences.
Buffalo: Oh, you paleface-loving hippie!
Hugs With Trees: ___________________, but “paleface” seems like a racially-charged term. Can we
call them something less offensive?
Chief: Like what, Hugs With Trees?
Hugs With Trees: Well, their boots make a cracking sound when they walk. _________________ call
them “crackers”?
All: Ah, yes, yes.
Chief: From now on, everybody calls white people “crackers”.
Buffalo: A’right. ________ how do we keep these **** crackers from coming here?
Woman: We could build a giant fence for keeping the crackers from sneaking into our lands.
Indian 1: Oh, ___________! ____________ those crackers will find some way to sneak in. We need
enforcement!
Buffalo: _____________ we lock their cracker ***** up!
Chief: Enough! Tomorrow I’ll issue my ruling
 can anyone here honestly say directly to the crackers.
(http://current.tv/supernews May 03, 2006)
 come on
 come on
 Excuse me
 I say
 I say
 I’ll admit
 if you ask me
 So
 this is just me talking here
 Why don’t we
 You know
 STUDENT A

2. How do these cartoons relate to the immigration debate? What’s your opinion on the points raised
by the cartoons? Talk non-stop for 2 minutes.

(By Mike Keefe. Source: The Denver Post. Sep 22, 2002)

(By Jeff Parker. Source: Florida Today. Dec 17, 2002)

 STUDENT B

2. How do these cartoons relate to the immigration debate? What’s your opinion on the points raised
by the cartoons? Talk non-stop for 2 minutes.

(By Sandy Huffaker. Source: Cagle Cartoons. Jan 28, 2004)

(By Gene Mora. Sep 11, 2004. Source: www.comics.com)

Teacher’s Guide

Use this with ppt M1U1immigrationcartoon and video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhEl6HdfqWM.

Video Script:

Indian 1: Chief, every day our borders are being crossed by uninvited foreigners. We have to do
something.
Buffalo: Well, if you ask me, and hey this is just me talking here, I say we shoot them all in their head,
make jackets out of their skin and then leave their carcasses to rot in the sun.
Chief: Er… OK.
Hugs With Trees: Well, I say we welcome them. They’re good for the economy, they gave us this comfy
blankets, and come on, can anyone here honestly say they don’t like firewater?
Chief: Didn’t they kill your entire family in a rage last week?
Hugs With Trees: OK, I’ll admit there are some cultural differences.
Buffalo: Oh, you paleface-loving hippie!
Hugs With Trees: Excuse me, but “paleface” seems like a racially-charged term. Can we call them
something less offensive?
Chief: Like what, Hugs With Trees?
Hugs With Trees: Well, their boots make a cracking sound when they walk. Why don’t we call them
“crackers”?
All: Ah, yes, yes.
Chief: From now on, everybody calls white people “crackers”.
Buffalo: A’right. So how do we keep these damn crackers from coming here?
Woman: We could build a giant fence for keeping the crackers from sneaking into our lands.
Indian 1: Oh, come on! You know those crackers will find some way to sneak in. We need enforcement!
Buffalo: I say we lock their cracker asses up!
Chief: Enough! Tomorrow I’ll issue my ruling directly to the crackers.
(http://current.tv/supernews May 03, 2006)

Cultural Note

A line from a poem, “The New Colossus,” by the nineteenth-century American poet 1
Emma Lazarus. “The New Colossus,” describing the Statue of Liberty, appears on a
plaque at the base of the statue. It ends with the statue herself speaking:
Give me your tired, your poor, 2
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

yearn /j3:n/ /j3`:n/ verb [I]

to desire very strongly, especially something that you cannot have or something that is very difficult to
have

huddled /"hVd.l=d/ adjective

gathered close together:
We stood huddled together for warmth.