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The immigration issue is not "going back to where it came from"; that conversation is here to stay. As debate about immigration becomes more frequent and polarized worldwide, youth are seeking perspectives on which to build their own developing philosophies. But the most accessible opinions they will find are voices with the most power: politicians, newscasters, and community leaders, who often create confusion through caricatures or misrepresentation. It's no secret that elections have been won with the momentum from anti-immigrant platforms; to youth coming ofage in the United States, it could appear that the national consensus is decidedly xenophobic. Our local schools are spilling over with anti-immigrant sentiment. Youth chant "build that wall!" in the faces ofLatino students in the cafeteria, challenging teachers to discipline them for imitating our highest elected official. New immigrants who have never been outside of the Americas are being told to go back to Africa; that they are ugly, unintelligent, and unwanted. Other students, when viewing a photo ofMalalaYousafzai receiving the Nobel Prize, guess that she is a terrorist. Girls in head coverings are targeted, groped, and uncovered in hallways. Teachers and administrators fear backlash against calling out hate speech more than they fear being confronted for allowing it to go on. Immigrants are not an insignificant group; according to 2010 US Census estimates, at least 13 percent of the US population is foreign-born, and 25 percent of US children have at least one foreign-born parent (US Census Bureau, 2017).
Empathy: A Game-Changer?
Everyone benefits when there is more empathy in the world. If we believe that it is important to narrow empathy gaps as youth come of age, we have to brush up on research that identifies strategies proven to make the world more inclusive and humanizing to all people. Empathy can lead students to a profound experience of sonder, a new-ish word referring to "the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own" (Koenig, 2014, para. 1). Sonder is harder to achieve when US-born students perceive immigrants as profoundly different because ofnational origin, physical features, cultural norms, language, or dialect. Generating empathy toward a branded group can actually make a difference in attitudes and treatment. Batson, Chang, Orr, & Rowland...