ch17bckgrndguide

Ch. 17 Role Play

For this role play, the cabinet of President Donald Trump will focus on the wall on the Mexican/ US border and the ban on visitors from 7 countries who try to enter the US.

Class Objectives -

1. Work in groups to develop common goals
2. Develop parliamentary procedure skills
4. Process and respond to various current events as they develop
5. Learn how the President seeks advice on foriegn events

A comprehensive guide to the Trump administraton is on This Site: BAMUNC Trump Cabinet Background Guide

Committee - Trump Cabinet

Background Guide - Immigration - Waverly Diggs and Shamerra McCoy

Following through with his promises he made during the campaign President Trump approved an executive order that suspended entry of all refugees to the US for 120 days and Syrian refugees indefinitely. This order blocked entry of citizens from, seven predominantly Muslim countries, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The president promised that this order will "save thousands of lives, millions of jobs and billions and billions of dollars."

There are many opposed to President Donald Trump’s new immigration policy. Many people believe it is unconstitutional and does not follow the foundation of freedom that America has worked on for many years. Many citizens and even some of Trump’s administration are concerned.

In February, the courts challenged Trump’s ban on immigration. It did not make it past the court but now there is a new revision. On March 6, Trump signed the official ban that is a temporary ban on all refugees. This ban, bans six Muslim majority countries but if a refugee from the six countries who have a valid visa or permanent resident are able to stay in the country.

Background Guide - The Wall; Sarah Esquela

Every American knows the Lone-Star state, and Texas' very mention brings to mind the state's bold outline. However, with a boarder so otherwise clean-cut, what makes the south, southwestern boarder so feathered? The answer is featured on nearly any US map: The Rio Grande.

Before and during the Mexican-American War, famous for the proud declaration of "Remember the Alamo!" there was a tract of no-man's-land that encompassed the grand river and formed Texas' southern boarder and a portion of Mexico's north. Soldiers from both sides occupied the valley, and out broke war, forming the nations as we know today.

In essence, the southern Texan boarder as well as those of the states to either side, are made from natural barriers, especially that of the Rio Grande. As anyone who has set up camp on beach or muddy terrain, or even walked along a babbling creek can tell, riverbanks are unideal construction sites. Yet, through tedious work, the Obama administration built a tall, barbed-wire fence along the majority of this nation's southernmost land. This initiative was backed by members of both parties, including one Hilary Clinton.

However, the building of this fence was not without its difficulties, or controversy. In the construction of this fence, several environmental, wildlife, and Native peoples' protections had to be pushed aside; many American's personal property was seized through civil forfeiture; and the fence still could not be posted along the boarder, leaving American lands on the opposite side of the physical boarder.

More over, there is a dire lack of infrastructure necessary to even bring the materials to build a wall to the proposed wall site, nevertheless to cary materials of the caliber President Trump promised in the campaign trail. Again, the ground on which President Trump has proposed building is not sturdy enough to hold a wall of such weight or size. Despite adamant denial from its most fervent supporters, the cost of Trump's wall would fall entirely on the taxpayers; it should be noted that trade deficits are not government business, but rather a country's corporations. And after all this has been said and done, the wall would do just as much as the existing fence to keep illegal immigration and trafficked drugs out of the nation.

The majority of undocumented aliens come into the United States legally and end up overstaying visas, or are themselves trafficked in themselves, not "hopping the fence." Drugs, however, do tend to "hop the fence," and tend to simply be catapulted or simply thrown over to an American accomplice on the other side. When they're not thrown, they're tunneled underneath, a problem that will be difficult to remedy by building the wall further down into the ground (the weight of the material in an already shaky construction site, plus transportation and cost of the added material), or by "sensors" (what kind of sensors, how will they function, and where are they to be stationed? And what if they're ever damaged?).

However, with the growing dissatisfaction among Trump's followers and growing accusations that he is not keeping to his campaign promises, especially with the passing of the universally-hated new healthcare bill and the inability to successfully instate bans on Islamic nations, this administration is feeling the pressure to keep to as many key campaign platforms as possible to rekindle support amongst the people. There is, in addition, still a perceived need for a wall as a solution to immigration issues and the transport of illegal goods, and people have the mentality of "give [the wall] a chance."

Crisis Topics - Waverly Diggs, Shamerra McCoy, with help from Sarah Esquela and Sydney Bubnis

Chairs: Waverly Diggs, Shamerra McCoy

Crisis Director: Sarah Esquela

Plan - -

1. Students will decide on these roles:

President Donald J. Trump *

Vice President Michael R. Pence

Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson *

Secretary of Defense General James N. Mattis, Information about the Department

Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions III

Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly *

Director of CIA Michael R. Pompeo *

National Security Advisor   General Herbert R. McMaster *

Counselor to the President Stephen K. Bannon    Quotes *

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway

Director of the FBI James B. Comey

Judge on the Circuit Court U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkeman *

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto *

2. Here is a comparison of both topcs:

Both Topics - NY Times

The debate topics are:

    A. The Wall
         NY Times, "Trump to Order Mexican Wall"
   Tillerson and the Wall
         Challenges
         Cost of the Wall
         Mexico Pay for Wall?

    B. Immigration
        Trump on Immigration
      Tillerson on Immigration
        Annotated Immigration Order
        Opposition from Business
        Orders Explained

3. Parliamentary Procedure

      A. Flow of Debate
      B. Rules of Procedure and Making Motions
      C. Peanut Butter Vs. Jelly Debate

4. Completion Assessment:

Write a 3 to 5 paragraph essay, responding to the following prompt:

Describe the character you played as part of the Trump Cabinet Crisis Committee. Your response should contain the following:
1. Your person's exact name, title, and the location of his or her office (are they actually in the White House, for instance)
2. What the person was doing before he or she joined the Trump Administration
3. Your character's personal position on Immigration and the Wall
4. How accurate was your portrayal of the person? Were you consistent with their viewpoint? If you adjusted the character's viewpoint, why? Were you guessing, and do you thnk you guessed right?

Class Resources


Nation by Nation Almanac

Portals to the World from the Library of Congress

United Nations Association of the United States of America

United Nations Cyberschoolbus

Virtualsources.com - Country information and resources

Welcome to the Official Web Site Locator for the UN System of Organizations

Welcome to the UN. It's your world.

Here is a worldwide schedule of Model United Nations
Schedule of All High School Model UN's

Here are links to other Model UN organizations:
Other Model UN's

Last Updated 3/27/2017

Return To Government Page

Return To Honors Government Page

Return To International Studies Page

Model UN Page

Return to Main Page