The trip is called "Immigration: Unplugged" and includes visits with advocates from San Francisco to San  Ysidro, at organizations like Centro Legal de La Raza in Oakland, the Filipino Farm Workers of Delano and the Council for American Islamic Relations in Santa Clara.  The students will also have the opportunity to meet with Yuri Kochiyama, a former Japanese internee.

"Since September 11th, the government has passed new guidelines and started enforcing old laws with detrimental implications for immigrants of color," said Lani Riccobuono, a Friedman Project youth advocate. "Ideally, the trip will allow students to make important connections to current immigration policy issues and news," added Riccobuono. Riccobuono hopes that the meeting with Kochiyama will lead to a discussion about the current detentions of Middle-Eastern, South Asian and Arab immigrants. 

The Friedman Project has sponsored six previous summer study projects focusing on issues including juvenile justice, tribal sovereignty, corporate America and homelessness. The 1996 trip also focused on immigration.

Project participants come from high schools in San Francisco, Oakland, East Palo Alto, Belmont, Mill Valley and Davis, among others. Following the trip, the students will be asked to speak in classrooms across northern California and compile a report documenting the trip with their writings, artwork and photographs.  This year, for the first time, the Project will also host a fall conference for high school students that will focus on the student trip. The conference will take place November 14th, at UC Berkeley and will include workshops featuring several of the speakers from the trip. 

            Nancy Otto, Director of the Friedman Project said, "The purpose of these in-depth field investigations is to introduce the different perspectives and positions of those who are active in the immigration debate to this group of youth activists.  It is our hope that they will then have a strong framework from which to discuss, debate and advocate on immigration issues in their communities and at school."

            The Friedman Project, established in 1991 after the death of former Chair of the ACLU-NC Board of Directors, Howard Friedman, strives to embody his deep commitment to the education of young people and his dedication to the values of equality, justice, and freedom of speech, by encouraging young people to struggle with the complex civil rights and Constitutional issues of the day.

 In addition to sponsoring the yearly trip, the Project also provides educational materials on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution to teachers, organizes speakers for high school civics and history classes, and serves as a model for other ACLU affiliates by making the Bill of Rights come alive for thousands of young people.