Background Guide - TJHSST Activities

TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
US Senate 2015
Thomas Jefferson High School Model United Nations Conference
TechMUN 2015
High School Specialized
Chair: Mona Bugaghis
Chair: Olivia Hsu
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
Dear Delegates,
Hello everyone! Our names are Mona Bugaighis and
Olivia Hsu, and we will be your chairs for the US Senate 2015
committee at TECHMUN 2015. We are both seniors at
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
(TJ). Olivia has been doing Model UN since her sophomore
year at TJ, and Mona started Model UN her freshman year at
TJ. Other than Model UN, Olivia is a black belt in Tae Kwon
Do and is an active member of TJ Coding Lady Colonials and
TJ’s Environmental Impact Club. Mona has been on the TJ Girls Varsity Tennis Team since her
freshman year as well as a dedicated member and current Vice President of the Hispanic
Alliance culture club at TJ.
As you should have already realized, the
topics for this committee will be Relations with
Cuba and Immigration Reform. We are very
excited to be chairing this committee and look
forward to debating these current situations. We
are looking forward to seeing people cooperate
and work diplomatically in order to solve the two
issues at hand. As always and especially because
this is not an issue that has already been resolved, we would like to see creative solutions and
innovative ideas during debate. We would like to see everyone’s individual and unique ideas,
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
which means that plagiarism is not acceptable in our committee under any circumstances. That
being said, our number one priority is for everyone to have fun during committee and enjoy
TECHMUN 2015! If you have any questions or need to reach us, please email us at
techmunsenate2015@gmail.com. We look forward to meeting everyone at TECHMUN 2015.
Sincerely,
Olivia Hsu and Mona Bugaighis
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
Topic A: Relations with Cuba
History/Background:
Ninety miles apart and decades of tension. In 1959, Fidel Castro and many
revolutionaries seized Havana and overthrew Fulgencio Batista2. As the young Cuban leader,
Fidel Castro, rose to power and developed a relationship with the Soviet Union, chance of
beneficial relations between the United States and Cuba greatly decreased. In 1960, President
Eisenhower placed an economic embargo on Cuba which led to the suspension of diplomatic
relations between the two countries the following year. 1961 brought even tenser situations as
the United States backed the Bay of Pigs invasion and increased Cuban mistrust and
nationalism2. This was one of many failed attempts to drive out Castro from his fierce grasp of
power. The following year came with the Cuban missile crisis that ended with the Soviet Union
removing its missiles from Cuba, with the continued deterioration of relations among the
neighboring countries. After the conclusion of these events, the United States turned toward
economic and diplomatic isolationism as a general policy for dealing with Cuba2.
President Carter took a step forward and declared that “all those wishing to leave Cuba
would be welcome in the [United States].”1 With this, 125,000 Cubans made their journey to the
U.S. in the Mariel boatlift1. Unfortunately and much to the dismay of many Americans,
thousands of these Cubans who fled the island were former prisoners or patients in mental
institutions. This led to the tightening of the embargo in the 1980’s and 1990’s. However, in
1999, under President Clinton’s administration, emphasized his encouraged culture exchange as
he loosened travel restrictions1. Once again, the situation flipped under President George W.
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
Bush as he set restrictions on travel and remittance which were reversed, again, under President
Obama2.
During President Obama’s first term, he expanded cellular and satellite service in Cuba
allowing US telecommunications to reach out to the island. Additionally, through this, US
citizens could send remittances to non-family members in Cuba2. Throughout President Obama’s
presidency, he attempted to further the relations between the US and Cuba. Decades later of
stalemate, 10 United States Presidents, a nuclear crisis, an unsuccessful invasion, and a strong
hold over Cuba by the Castro brothers, a hint of change has just occurred in December 20141.
This December, 2014, President Obama announced alterations to the status quo1. Simply put,
President Obama voiced that the fifty year plan with Cuba did not work and he set the ball
rolling and proposed the exchange of communication and culture with our neighbors. As stated
by President Obama, "Mandela showed us the power of action of taking risks on behalf of our
ideals.”1.
Questions to consider:
1) How does the lifting of economic isolation affect Congress’s position on budget and
financial planning?
2) How does the large Cuban population in Miami and southern Florida contribute to this
situation?
3) What solutions/actions are best to have mutual advantages between Cuba and the
United States in the progression of this relationship?
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
Works Cited
1. Myre, Greg. "The U.S. And Cuba: A Brief History Of A Complicated Relationship."
Parallels. NPR, 17 Dec. 2014. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/12/17/371405620/the-u-s-and-cuba-a-briefhistory-of-a-tortured-relationship>.
2. Renwick, Danielle, and Brianna Lee. "U.S.-Cuba Relations." Council on Foreign
Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.cfr.org/cuba/us-cuba-relations/p11113>.
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
Topic B: Immigration Reform
History/Background
The United States of America is seen as the melting pot of the world, priding itself on
being a diverse nation with immigration at the basis of this idea. The US federal government has
had a long standing history with immigration, however, this committee will be focusing on
modern immigration reform from the Reagan administration to the present. Immigration reform
is defined loosely as the federal government’s In 1986, Reagan signed the Immigration Reform
and Control Act into law, which gave employers the right to question an employee's immigration
status, made it illegal for people to hire illegal immigrants knowingly, made it legal to hire
certain seasonal illegal immigrants, created stricter border laws, and gave amnesty to over 3
million illegal immigrants2.
After Reagan, the George W. Bush administration pushed for greater immigration reform
through the proposal of a temporary worker program. The temporary worker program called for
a greater leniency in legal temporary worker visas so that there would be fewer opportunities for
employers to hire unidentified illegal immigrants. The program proposed many reforms
including allowing temporary workers to come to the US with a visa that was attached to the
worker rather than the job, creating a database with all of the workers, allowing workers to apply
for permanent residency, and many other reforms. Although the program did not make it through
Congress, it opened up the door to immigration reform by acknowledging and addressing many
immigration issues that the federal government had turned a blind eye to3. Bush’s Presidency
also led to an increase in border security, when Bush deployed 6,000 National Guard Troops to
the US border with Mexico. One of Bush’s biggest domestic legislative initiatives was the
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, a bipartisan immigration reform bill that
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
addressed increased amnesty, a channel for illegal immigrants to eventually become naturalized,
temporary worker programs, and green-card process reform. Bush’s strong support for the bill
caused a split in the Republican Party since most conservatives opposed the increased amnesty
and naturalization provisions in the bill. The Act ultimately failed in the Senate in June5. In 2001,
an important piece of legislation known as the DREAM Act was proposed in the Senate. The
DREAM Act gave illegal immigrant children the ability to become citizens if they completed
four years of higher education or two years in the military, proposed with the thought that illegal
immigrant children did not choose to come to the US knowingly and should not be penalized for
their parents’ decisions1.
Presently, the Obama administration has focused tremendously on domestic immigration
reform with the goal of creating a domestic legacy. During the 113th Congress, the US Senate
formed a group known as the “Gang of Eight” with the sole purpose of tackling the immigration
reform issue. The “Gang of Eight” included four Democrats and four Republicans who wanted to
shed light on the immigration issue and reveal why legislation reform was not passing in
Congress6. The “Gang” drafted the first version of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity,
and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013, which included a naturalization path for illegal
immigrants, increased visas for STEM fields, and an improved visa plan for agricultural workers.
This bill passed in the Senate but ultimately failed in the House due to gridlock4. Currently in the
news, Obama’s immigration executive action followed provisions in the previously introduced
DREAM Act saying that illegal immigrant children would not be deported. As of February 20th,
Obama’s executive action has been ruled unconstitutional through judicial review1.
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
Questions to Consider
This is a complicated and divided issue that requires compromise in order to create a
comprehensive resolution. Some questions to consider include:
1. How can the Democratic and Republican bipartisanship come together to create moderate
resolution to combat the issue of illegal immigration?
2. What should happen with illegal immigrants and their children once they are already in
the US?
3. What can the federal government do to prevent and better identify illegal immigrants?
4. Should the legal immigration and naturalization process be more lenient or more
stringent? And what effects would changing the immigration process have?
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015
TechMUN 2015
US Senate 2015
Works Cited
1. "Immigration." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration>.
2. "Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)." U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services. Department of Homeland Security, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.uscis.gov/tools/glossary/immigration-reform-and-control-act-1986-irca>.
3. Jachimowicz, Maia. "Bush Proposes New Temporary Worker Program." Migration
Policy Institute. Migration Policy Institute, 01 Feb. 2004. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/bush-proposes-new-temporary-workerprogram>.
4. "Text of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization
Act." GovTrack.us. Civic Impulse, 27 June 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
<https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s744/text>.
5. Weiner, Rachel. "How Immigration Reform Failed, over and over." Washington Post.
The Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/01/30/how-immigrationreform-failed-over-and-over/>.
6. Weiner, Rachel. "Immigration’s Gang of 8: Who Are They?" Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/01/28/immigrations-gang-of-8who-are-they/>.
TechMUN at Stuart Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and JEB Stuart
High School Fairfax, VA | April 10-11, 2015