Rethinking Immigration as a Controversy.
Banning refugees. Building a wall along the U.S. Mexico border. Separating children from their parents. Detaining and deporting immigrants at higher rates. Immigration is front page news. While immigration has historically been a divisive issue in the United States,1 debates surrounding immigrants particularly those from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Muslim majority countries have intensified.2 Moreover, presidential policy decisions that have momentous consequences for minoritized groups and, more broadly, for U.S. society are currently being implemented. As the U.S. and other nations grapple with the boundaries of inclusion at a time of increasing political polarization, teachers face quandaries about how to address immigration in classrooms. Although some educators may avoid immigration as a discussion topic,3 others enthusiastically choose it precisely because of its relevance.4 Further complicating decisions about whether and how to teach about immigration is the question of who is in the classroom. Under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plyler v. Doe (1982) undocumented students have the right to attend pub