Accompanying slides for this lesson may be found here: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/j1yg5k53sxj6efwipwmw9jac4igqvq2q

1. Cultural Energizer (5 min)

   1.  Ask students to share with a peer where home is for them, or where home is for their family. 

   2. Solicit student responses to the whole class. Follow up by asking if anyone considers home out of state or out of country? 

   3. Teachers to review lesson questions and objectives. Teachers can also review the lesson background to provide context.

2. Vocabulary Building (15 minutes)
   1. Teachers should distribute handout: “Refugee Law Key Terms List”
   2. The teacher will show the vocabulary words on a slideshow in successive order: See slide deck, “Vocabulary Terms Slides and Text” at https://ucdavis.box.com/s/j1yg5k53sxj6efwipwmw9jac4igqvq2q.
   3. For each term displayed, students will write down related words, definitions, or questions using their background knowledge related to the term. Students will try their best to write down:
      1. A simplified definition based on their understanding. Students can paraphrase the definitions found on the handouts. 
      2. Questions or wonderings they would like to clarify.
      3. Terms: refugee, immigrant/legal permanent resident, non-immigrant, undocumented immigrant/illegal alien
         1. Example: I think a refugee is someone who escapes war, such as a Vietnamese refugee who came here by boat. Question: Can you be a refugee if you did not escape war?
   4. Pair/Share: After students write down their interpretations, students get into pairs and discuss what their interpretations of the term was and from what experiences in their life did they use to make those interpretations.
3. Discussion and Introduction into Refugee Law (15 min)
   1. At this point, the teacher should distribute: (1) a key terms list for important vocabulary regarding immigration/refugee law (see handout “Refugee Law Key Terms List”, and (2) the following excerpt: 
      1. “Since 1948, international law–The Universal Declaration of Human Rights–has guaranteed the right to seek and receive asylum in other countries.  Since 1965, refugee admissions have been the smallest of the three main paths for legal admission to the United States, along with preferences for family unification and skilled employment.  To receive refugee visas, applicants must demonstrate their endangerment and inability to return to their homes and undergo extensive vetting while abroad.  The U.S. government retains authority to set standards and manage approval processes, which usually emphasize political considerations.” “As early as 1917, immigration law had exempted asylum seekers from general immigration restrictions.  Unlike refugees, asylum seekers arrive at the United States without pre authorization and request permission to enter and gain safety.  The United States is obligated to evaluate their applications and on the principle of non-refoulement should not force refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they are liable to be subjected to persecution.” 
         1. Sourced from: https://immigrationhistory.org/lesson-plan/refugee-asylum/.
   2. Based on the key terms handout and slides, the teacher will briefly introduce the legal definitions for each of the terms related to immigration status.
      1. Students can be encouraged to find a visual representation of each key term. Recommended for teachers to share the presentation with discussion. Teachers can screencast the presentation so students can pre-watch and re-watch or interact with them independently. Ask students to explain what the content means after each slide.
   3. Teachers will prompt students to share how the legal definitions and their own definitions may affect attitudes, policies, or discussions about Vietnamese immigrant groups in our society.
      1. Potential questions to consider:
         1. Is the law color-blind? Why or why not?
         2. Does a law’s meaning change depending upon the individual?
4. Interaction with first source (15 min)
   1. Based on the website excerpt, the teacher will introduce the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol.
      1. Students can make inferences of how this foundation may affect Vietnamese refugees. It may be beneficial to work through the descriptions as a class, and paraphrase each one.
         1. 1951 Refugee Convention: “This UN Refugee Convention set international standards for refugee rights and resettlement work. It is administered by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Wary of international obligations, President Truman refused to sign the U.S. government on to the convention.” (https://immigrationhistory.org/lesson-plan/refugee-asylum/) 
         2. 1967 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Refugee Protocol: “The UNHCR issued this protocol in 1967 to implement the goals of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which set forth the key principle of refoulement, or that persons in flight from persecution and danger cannot be forced to return to places of danger.” (https://immigrationhistory.org/lesson-plan/refugee-asylum/)
      2. If time permits, teachers can encourage students to read further both. Additional content can be found on the slides: https://ucdavis.box.com/s/j1yg5k53sxj6efwipwmw9jac4igqvq2q. The teacher can mention that refugee law in the US has geopolitical roots and was created at the height of tension with the Soviet Union.