Immigration and America

One of the main topics in the presidential election right now is the issue of immigration and what we should do about it. Ideas range from deporting all illegal immigrants and building a wall to keep the Mexican people out of our country to lets allow their children to citizens but not the parents because they came here illegally. To me, this issue is not the most complicated thing in terms of the idea, executing the idea is a whole different story.
There is a stereotype going around right now that says that most illegal immigrants are violent criminals or they are only here to sell drugs. Many people, like Trump fall into the trap of this lie. In fact, most illegal immigrants are hard working families, who seek the opportunity to have a better life and provide for their family. Because of this reason we should allow all illegal immigrants without a violent or drug related crime to become American citizens. On the other hand, criminals should be deported back to mexico. A question that people often ask, especially when referring to Trump is, should we build a wall? Personally, I am neither for nor against building a wall at the Mexican-American boarder. Several countries like Vatican city have done this to control who goes in and out of the country. This will allow the US to have better control over the drugs that brought in and out of this country. It was also allow the US to control who goes in and out of the country and deny criminals access to United States. Contrary to this, building a wall would go against all American values. This country was built on Immigration and allowing people to move to America in search for a better life. If I were to be forced to make a decision on whether or not I would be in favor of building a wall, I would have to lean on the safer side, which is building the wall. It would lower the amount of drugs brought into the US and give the government greater knowledge as to who is coming in and out of the country. However, there is yet another downside to building a wall. Doing this would weaken Mexican-American relations, which could only lead to more issues. Because of this, I chose to remain undecided on this issue.

America is Immigration

America is filled with people from all over the world. There are those that look like they are from here and those who stand out. If you were to ask my grandmother her background, you would be sitting trying to figure out an never-ending map. She's mainly Cuban and Dominican, but you would hear about ten other ethnicities as well. It's extremely common to be or have parents, grandparents, or great grandparents that were immigrants than to have that whole line of family be solely from America. Thanks to both my grandparents I'm a mut of ethnicities but with my fair skin, blonde hair, and bluish eyes, most people wouldn't be able to tell.


Canada - Green | Western Europe - Purple | Asia - Orange | Latin America - Red | Russia/Eastern Europe - Blue | Africa - Pink
 


Only in Cook County 1/5 of the population is foreign born.
Interactive Map Showing Immigration


I believe that in the dangerous world we live in, we can't let anyone into our country. But, if we can offer a safer home than some other countries can for people than that should be allowed. Limitations are the best way to handle immigration. With background checks, screening and examining the possible risks, America can stay a safe, happy and free place for Americans and immigrants. No matter the country or skin color someone holds, they should be allowed a safe place to call a home.

In the 1/14/16 republican debate Ted Cruz was asked to respond about a statement the president made about the economy and responds with something that has nothing to do with the economy. He says, "I want to get to the substance on jobs, but let me start with something, Today, many of us picked up our newspapers and we were horrified to see the sight of ten American sailors on their knees with their hands on their heads and that state of the union president Obama didn't so much as mention the ten sailors that had been captured by Iran. President Obama is preparing to send 100,000,000 dollars to or more to the Ayatollah Khomeini. And I'll tell you it was heartbreaking but the good news is the next commander in chief is standing on this stage." Here Ted Cruz uses a Red Herring to pull aware from the intended question and appeal to ethos  and pathos to cause an uproar in the crowd and improved his worthiness of being president. Not only was he talking about something that was completely irrelevant to the question, he also insulted both the president and the democratic party, by guild of association. Even though he ended up answering part of the question in the end, he used a red herring to avoid the complexity of the question and ended up giving a very simple answer. This logic is faulty for several obvious reasons: he talked about a topic that was completely unrelated to the questions, he attacked a party while doing it, and he meant to evade the complexity of the question, so that he might be able to give a simple answer and seem patriotic while doing it.      

The right to keep and bear arms, who has it?

Although we are given the right to own and carry guns through the constitution, guns cause more violence than they do good, even though they can be used as a form a self defense. In the constitution it is the "right of the people to keep and bear Arms," but what does that mean exactly? Is anyone allowed to carry a gun and if only certain people can who can't? Secondly, what does arms mean exactly? Are people allowed to own and carry any kind of gun imaginable? These are the kinds of questions that are should be considered and are the ones that are being asked.
In the wording of the constitution, it is worded in a way that means all people have the right, did the founding fathers intend on giving this privilege to violent criminals and the mentally unstable? No, the second amendment was written for the common man. So I believe that people should have the right to bear arms, except for the mentally unstable or anyone who has committed a violent felony.
What type of guns should be available to the common man to own? Order to answer that question we need to ask a second question which is, what is the purpose of owning a gun? There are simply three answers: for recreational purposes, like a shooting ranges; for self defense, and for hunting. For each of these things, automatic and semi-automatic are not necessary. Automatic guns are made to kill efficiently, not to protect. Because of this, people should not be able to own automatic or semiautomatic guns, but rather guns like a pistol or hunting rifle.

The Economic Value of Undocumented Immigrants

With Trump's recent ideas to barricade our borders, it is becoming increasingly important to educate people on the truth about immigrants. They are not "criminals" and "rapists" as Trump publicly announced. The United States is a nation built on immigrants, and these recent immigrants are no different than our ancestors. In fact, 25% of fast-growing American companies were founded by people born in foreign countries. We can't forget that unless have Native American blood, that we all immigrated here at one point or another. So how can the fight against immigration be a major highlight of the 2016 campaign?

Mr. Trump’s immigration plan calls for deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants then letting "the good ones" back in. Contrary to Trump's outrageous plan, according to the Washington Post, a "sizable majority" of Americans say that illegal immigrants should be permitted to stay. The most sensible policy would be to give current undocumented immigrants a long-term path to citizenship. 

Undocumented immigrants contribute billions to the economy, and we would actually be losing money by deportation. Over 53% of our nation's 2.5 million farm workers are undocumented immigrants. The Union puts this number at over 70%. Without these numbers, our farming network would crumble. 

Without the undocumented population, Texas’ work force would decrease by 6.3 percent and Texas’ gross state product would decrease by 2.1 percent. Furthermore, certain segments of the U.S. economy, like agriculture, are entirely dependent upon illegal immigrants.

Despite tearing apart families and robbing innocent people of the lives they have created in this country, one major reason against deportation of undocumented immigrants is simply economical. These people are the major contributors to our nation's farming system, without them our nation would lose millions of dollars. 

If not on a moral level, then the United States should create a pathway to citizenship for immigrant's immense economic benefits to our country

Immigration is what has made America what it is today. Without immigrants there would be no Americans other than American Indians. As Americans we enjoy living in one of, if not the most diverse and multicultural countries in the world.

In my opinion, immigration is that with screening and intense background checks, immigrants should be allowed into our country. I do feel that only so many people from other countries should be accepted per year and there should be exceptions for those coming from war torn countries. But, there has to be a process that these people would have to go through. To deny immigrants from coming here for a better life would simply be wrong and hypothetical.


Food for thought: What would America be without immigrants?

No Such Thing as an Illegal Person

Immigration is an extremely hot topic these days, and with candidates such as Donald Trump taking such an extreme stance on one side of the issue or the other, people don't seem to have a clear consensus as to what we should do about the issue of immigration and illegal immigrants. Let me start off by saying that illegal immigrants are actually an extremely integral part of our economy, with them helping pay for social security as well as growing a very large portion of produce and making up a large part of work forces overall. Because Trump's immigration plan seems to be the leading plan right now (I'm shuddering just thinking about a Trump presidency), let's just take a look at what would happen. 11 million workers would disappear. Our real GDP would take a $1.6 trillion hit, and it would take 20 years to completely remove all illegal immigrants. The price of strawberries, bananas, and any other farm-produced products would skyrocket, as well as farm income dropping severely. Not to mention how illegal immigrants actually create jobs that often go to U.S. natives. Though it may seem a bit paradoxical due to the wording, illegal immigrants play an extremely crucial part in our nation's economy. Thus, though it may make plenty of people angry, the most beneficial and easy solution to this "problem" is to provide citizenship to these immigrants. Putting them on the record would make them legal workers, eliminating all the scares created by raiding factories and trying to find illegals, as well as keeping the benefits of these workers being here.

Election of Immigration

Immigration has been one of the driving problems in the presidential debates this year. The methods of dealing with immigration problems vary incredibly. Whether you are Donald Trump, with a very xenophobic policy, or Bernie Sanders, who has been shown to be very compassionate on the issue of immigration. With so many opposing views, it is important to know where each candidate is coming from.

Recent research suggest that about 15% of the United States population is comprised of immigrants. That is about a 10% increase since 1970. These are the kind of facts that have Donald Trump riled up. Trump doesn't want illegal immigrants to come to the US and be able to get jobs that other Americans could also be competing for, which is a valid fear, but his policies are too harsh. Trump wants to build a wall around the country and very strictly enforce border control, to decrease the number of immigrants from mexico. Trump also wants to restrict access from other countries too, mostly in Muslim countries. He sees recent terrorist activity as directly connected to the Muslim faith. This is a closed minded idea that seem xenophobic and offensive, but in an era with so much uneasy feelings, this is the kind of policy people seem to be flocking to.

On the other side of the immigration coin there stands Bernie Sanders. Sanders has very different policy ideas than Donald Trump. Sanders says that The United States are a country built by immigrants, and because of that they should be accepted. Sanders has constantly said that he is ready to give many people any and every opportunity to pursue a life in The United States. "Their story, my story, our story is a story of America: hard-working families coming to the United States to create a brighter future for their children," Sanders' motto for immigration. Sanders' policies will provide the county's already diverse culture to go further in the direction of full equality and acceptance.

These are just two of the views surrounding immigration, one of the most important topics of this election year.

Immigration

Immigration is a major issue in the United States. Some presidential candidates feel that immigrants should be deported, banned, and blocked from coming to the United States. Other candidates have different approaches to the situation. There are many ways that the US immigration policy can approach this situation.

Although immigration is a huge problem to these candidates, the methods in decreasing immigration should not be as dramatic. Immigrants that are already in the United States should not be the main focus right now. The US immigration policy should focus on keeping more immigrants from coming to the United States. Security at the border should be increased to ensure that no immigrants will pass through illegally. For undocumented immigrants, they should be given a year to become citizens of the United States and prove citizenship.

All Muslims should not be discriminated against. Every Muslim does not have the intentions of harming the US and its citizens. Unless suspicious activity is suspected, Muslims should be left alone. They should be treated as equal as every other American citizen. The US immigration policy should include that all Muslims must be documented in order to stay or come to the United States. 

No Easy Answers On Immigration

America is a paradox of a country. English settlers came here seeking wealth and religious freedom, and bullied their way across a swath of land until their domain reached from coast to coast. However, despite this, American policy has often treated immigrants very poorly. Even back in the 1800s, Irish immigrants were consistently treated terribly by their fellow Americans. Some version his has been reflected across every ethnicity- as "whites" were starting to become the minority, people began to consider the Irish "white" for the first time. This happened with Germans and Jews, too, and who's to say it won't happen to Hispanic or Arab citizens? But each time, the majority has to find some new, frequently poor minority to pick on. Frequently, these groups are made mostly of immigrants.

It's more complicated than that, though. The greater concern is that of illegal immigration, and more specifically, what to do with the vast number of illegal or undocumented immigrants currently living in the US. Doing nothing is bad for everyone, but there's no efficient way to get rid of them, so we're stuck in the middle while everyone runs around trying to figure out how to deal with unexpected tenants. The secret is, no one really knows. Look at Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, two prominent political figures and sons of immigrants, quarrel back and forth.

Both of those men have "plans". Donald Trump has a "plan" to build a wall and deport a lot of people. But none of it is backed by any true evidence- it's all just theorizing and conjecture. America's situation is so unique, so unprecedented- a country literally built entirely by immigrants, who moved here and conquered "illegally", now spending a large amount of time trying (and to some extent failing) to figure out how to kick out the illegal immigrants. My theory is this- someday, living in the US as a Hispanic or Arab won't be twice as hard as being white, and that will be the day when the number of illegal immigrants finally drops. In the meantime, maybe we should just leave undocumented immigrants alone.

Immigration Becomes a Popular Subject

As the Presidential campaign approaches this November, many issues have been zoomed in on in order to raise awareness and fix some of America´s flaws. One of the biggest problems that we are dealing with, according to Trump, is immigration. There have been many suggestions regarding finding a solution to our ever-growing struggle with immigrants, a few of which are very radical. Trump, for example, believes that the solution is to force immigrants to leave, and build bigger walls around our country´s borders for protection purposes. Despite the fact that this may solve immediate conflict, it is essentially running away from the dilemma that we face together as a nation.

Even though there have been conflicts with immigration in the past, I do not think that the answer is to simply avoid it altogether by making it nearly impossible to be an immigrant in the United States. Many immigrants are proven to have worked and bettered the United State´s economy in some way, shape, or form. There is also the argument that America´s education system is very good, and draws attention to people that come from countries without such benefits and opportunities.

America has always been known as the land of opportunity. We are supposed to be a nation that allows its people to set goals and achieve them. There are no limitations when it comes to dreams. However, when the people that need the hope of becoming successful in reaching their goals can no longer do so, our ¨opportunistic¨ name loses credibility.

There still lies the problems with drugs, violence, and other disturbances that immigrants may cause. Working to combat those issues while allowing the others to pursue their goals is very hard. It is a problem that needs to be faced head on instead of taking the easy way out like Trump and eliminating it altogether.

Donald Trump's Animosity Towards Immigrants

Donald Trump is known for his anti-immigration views. He is an advocate for closing U.S. borders and has stated his dislike for immigrants a numerous amount of times. Unsurprisingly, he targets immigrants in his speech during the launch of his presidential campaign. Trump utilizes pathos in his spiel to rally Americans against immigrants.

Trump begins with stating that the "U.S has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems." Trump is hoping to turn Americans against immigrants by using pathos to evoke anger and a sense of unity from his audience. The wording of this sentence deems the U.S. as weak, and suggests that other countries are violating America by "dumping" immigrants into U.S. territory. The rhetoric used here is effective because it implies that other nations view the U.S. as inferior which causes Americans to unite on a common ground of hatred. Trump then further says that the immigrants entering the U.S., from countries like Mexico, are not "good people." He states,"They're [Mexico] not sending their best...They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists..." Trump again uses pathos to evoke emotions of fear and anger. Fear of drugs, crime and rape corrupting American communities, when in reality, Trump's statement is not true and is a generalization. He hopes American's will view immigrants as a burden rather than a positive addition to American society. He goes on even further with his pathos method, by stating, "It's [immigrants] coming from more than Mexico. It's coming from all over South and Latin America and it's coming probably from the Middle East." Trump is hoping to evoke even more fear from his audience through his last statement. Given the U.S.'s rocky relationship with many Middle Eastern countries and the looming threat of ISIS, Trump hopes to scare American's into believing that immigrants are terrorists and are a threat to America. 

Marco Rubio's Powerful Depiction of the American Dream

Marco Rubio's "Bartender" is one of the most powerful ads in the 2016 presidential campaign thus far. Invoking a pathos and nationalism that resonates with all Americans, "Bartender" shows Rubio at his greatest. He does this using clever editing and musical techniques and a message that everyone wants to believe.

The ad starts with shots of Rubio's father coming home from work. These scenes are in sepia tone and slowly fade in and out to convey how they display the past. These shots invoke a sense of nostalgia because of the camera angles and music. The music starts out as only emotional piano, and the angles all obscure Rubio's father's face, as if the viewer is a kid again, seeing their own father come home from work. Rubio voices over these scenes describing his father and the dreams his father had.
Rubio then changes the subject by saying "He wanted all the doors that closed for him to open for me," and there is a shot of Rubio waking up to the podium, still in sepia tone. "And my father stood behind a portable bar all those years," says Rubio. "So I could stand here behind this podium in front of this room and this nation."
The camera changes to a shot of Rubio in full color. This change of color is the most genius rhetorical strategy in the ad. It clearly defines Rubio today from his struggling father in the past. Rubio is young and represents, to some, a change of character for a Republican candidate. This change in color enhances this view and gives hope for the viewer that the American Dream could be a reality. The advertisement ends with an animation of Marco Rubio's hip, lowercase logo.

Donald Trump and his Wall of Ethos and Pathos

Donald Trump has become known for his extreme plan for immigration. Trump blames illegal immigrants for the bulk of America's problems from violence to the economy. From building a wall to the deportation of eleven million people, Trump uses the rhetorical tools of ethos and pathos to make his immigration plan make sense.

Trump uses ethos throughout his argument on immigration as a way to discredit illegal immigrants and his fellow candidates and to establish his own ethos as the solution to the problem of immigration in the United States. Trump focuses on the harm that illegal immigrants are causing in America through crime and stealing jobs from Americans. He makes all illegal immigrants seem violent, which is false, and that they are raising the violence in America. He also blames them for hurting the American economy by taking jobs away from American citizens. By doing this Trump is destroying the ethos of immigrants in America and making them appear dangerous to American society. Trump also targets his fellow candidates in saying that they are weak in terms of their immigration policies and that they would not accomplish what needs to be done if they were to be elected. By discrediting illegal immigrants and his fellow candidates, Trump is establishing his own ethos as the solution to the immigration problem. Trump believes that he is the person that can fix immigration and secure the nation's border and he establishes his ethos by making everyone else seems as if they can't. 

Trump also uses pathos in his argument on immigration in the United States. He uses pathos to rouse the emotion of fear in his audience over the harm that illegal immigrants are doing to America. He paints immigrants as those who are creating violence in America creating a sense of fear and nervousness. He also says that illegal immigrants are stealing American jobs. By doing this he is arising pathos in the form of anger especially from those that are unemployed. Pathos becomes a tool that Trump uses to gain support for his extreme plan to stop illegal immigration. Trump and his plan to stop illegal immigration are based off of ethos and pathos that are supposed to persuade his audience that his extreme plan is the only one that will work. 

Imagery In Trump's Campaign Ads

Donald Trump's campaign team has released a number of ads throughout the 201 Campaign. This specific ad focuses on Trump's call to stop all Muslims from entering the country, his desire to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and his overall plan to 'make America great again.' The ad is saturated with rhetorical devices, which are used to glorify Trump to the audience.



The ad begins with a gray-tinted picture of President Obama and Hilary Clinton, and dark unsettling music. A low and ominous voice claims that the politicians do not realize the threat that Muslims pose to America. The music continues, and the sounds of sirens and chaos are added as two profiles, one of an Islamic man and one of a woman, are flashed on the screen. Here the campaign ad gives the audience a visual and auditory experience of chaos and terrorism, followed by the profiles of Islamic people. The narrator states that 'radical Islamic terrorism' can only be stopped by Trump's plan to ban Muslim people from entering the country. Not only are the first ten seconds of the ad riddled with logical fallacies and blatant discrimination, they are also packed with genius rhetorical imagery that manages to shove the idea that all Muslims are terrorists into the audience's heads.

After glossing over huge issues like ISIS and immigration policies, both accompanied by daunting black and white images and unnerving music, the tone of the ad is shifted to colorful and hopeful. Trump is shown speaking for a crowd, promising to make America great. The image is in full color, and uplifting music blares in the background. This dramatic change of tone gives the audience the sense that all the terrible, dark, daunting problems can be solved by voting for a colorful, hopeful, and determined Trump.

Campaign 2016: One Big Action Movie

Often times, ads on TV, especially political ads, can be boring and bothersome. However, the ads that are actually interesting capture a viewer’s attention one way or another. Politicians constantly use T.V. ads to inform voters about their policies or even bash their opponents. In January, Ted Cruz released a very attention grabbing T.V. ad entitled “Invasion.” Cruz’s ad explains his stance on immigration. Compared to other political ads, Cruz’s really stands out in its presentation. Cruz uses a variety of film techniques similar to an action movie, such as slow motion and sound contrast, to emphasize his argument and captivate audiences.

The first 45 seconds of his 1-minute ad shows a variety of people running across what is supposed to be the Rio Grande River. In this very dramatic and action movie like scene, all of the people running across the river are wearing suits and other professional business clothing. The constant use of slow motion video clips adds to the excitement and suspense. The slow motion in the ad gives it an extra feeling that can only be described as an action movie. The use of slow motion gets the viewer revved up and excited. As the viewer watches this wonderful display of athleticism by the businessmen and women, dramatic, action movie style music plays in the background. The constant crescendos and decrescendos add to the action of the clips and highlights when the ad reaches its climax. The introduction takes a very slow approach and the music slowly increases speed as it brings the view to the apex of the ad. The music begins to die down around 45 seconds where it shows a clip of Ted Cruz from one of the GOP debates. He says, “If I am elected president, we will triple the border patrol, we will build a wall that works and we will secure the border.” As he says this, the extra-diegetic music dies down and fades away. The fading music causes the viewer to listen very attentively to his final argument at the end. The action movie style presentation and sound effects help strengthen Ted Cruz’s argument by captivating viewers and getting them to pay attention to what he is saying.

Donald "Uses Pathos to Make Arguments" Trump, and His View on Immigration

Donald Trump somehow manages to pin the blame for a majority of America’s economic and societal problems on illegal immigrants in his blog post titled “Immigration Reform That Will Make America Great Again”. In it, Trump plays on his audience’s fears by stating the “facts” about the crimes and negative economic effects of immigrants while committing some serious logical fallacies.

Trump uses graphic descriptions of a singular event to paint all illegal immigrants as murdering criminals. In his post, he tells his readers of “an illegal immigrant from Mexico, with a long arrest record... charged with breaking into a 64 year-old woman’s home, crushing her skull and eye sockets with a hammer, raping her, and murdering her”. Obviously, this is an obscene thing, and in no way should be allowed in the United States or anywhere else. However, instead of providing solid facts about crimes committed by immigrants (which would be a bit of an exercise in futility. Studies show that illegal immigrants are actually less likely to commit crime) Trump decides to pick out one horrifying event and scare everyone with it, appealing to their pathos. Instead of using actual evidence, Donald Trump picks out one event to scare his audience into voting for him and his anti-immigration policies.

While Trump does bring up some very real economic problems, he commits a logical fallacy by assuming that correlation implies causation. He is correct that we have large amounts of illegal immigrants, and that our economy is definitely not in the best shape. He even supports both of these statements with relatively well-sourced facts. However, at no point does Trump actually connect our economic problems with the large amounts of illegal immigrants. Based off the facts provided connecting the two statistics (none), I could just as easily say that our economy’s problems stem from the increased number of vaccinations our kids are getting. Obviously that doesn’t make sense. Neither does blaming our financial failings on immigrants with the information that Trump provides. No matter the “truth” of Trump’s findings, he effectively tells his audience that unless they vote for him and get these immigrants out, all of their jobs are going to get stolen and they’re going to die in poverty. He especially focuses on blacks and hispanics, as those are generally two of his worst demographics.

By drumming up fear of illegal immigrants, Trump tries to create a need for someone who will do what it takes to kick them all out. Unsurprisingly, that person is him.

Trump and his Truckload of Pathos

Donald J. Trump has become notorious over the past few months, all because of his extremely controversial and racist statements, many of which have to do with immigration. The immigration of Mexicans. The immigration of Muslims. Pretty much he seems completely opposed to the immigration of all non-whites. The only problem with all of Trump's statements is that they completely rely on pathos alone, playing off of the fears and insecurities of the white American citizen.

At the beginning of Trump's statement on Mexican immigration, he says "And these are the best and the finest," referring to the American people. He opens up with patriotism! Raring up the crowd to agree with him, simply because they too are patriotic and love America. He follows this up with "[Mexico] is not sending their best... They have lots of problems." This immediately exploits the fears of his supporters, furthering the racist undertone of the whole setting. (Side note: Mexico isn't sending anyone, the illegal immigrants are escaping to come to the "land of opportunity" which America is made out to be.)

Trump also makes a statement on Muslim immigration, which is just as ridiculous, and even more racist. He proposed a "complete and total shutdown" on Muslim immigration into America. This got support from Trump's supporters only because of the recent ISIS terrorist attacks scared them. In a phone-call interview, he begins to trash talk a woman who calls him "un-constitutional," instead of actually addressing her comment, and he then attempts to use logos, stating the amount of phone calls and support that he's gotten. He completely storms past the interviewer's questions, going on to talk about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, falling back onto pathos. He never addresses the one question, using pathos only as a diversion in an attempt to avoid (or answer) the question.

His name is Donald J. Trump. The "J." stands for "genius."

Trump On Immigration

Donald Trump is a presidential candidate for the Republican Party in the 2016 election. Infamously known as a racist with extreme ideas for the country, Trump uses an appeal to pathos and an appeal to nationalism to help his argument.

Donald Trump believes that we should deport all undocumented immigrants to help better America as a country. In a recent interview he specifically targets Mexicans.

Here, Trump uses the rhetoric, in particular, an appeal to pathos to convince Americans that Mexicans are bad people. He says "They [Mexico] aren't bringing their good people here. They aren't bringing you [American citizens]." By saying this Trump is appealing to the emotions of American citizens, making them feel better about themselves to have an inferior look down on Mexicans. Trump is also inferring that his audience are all hard workers. This gives his potential voters a good feelings about not only themselves, but Trump as a president. Trump also uses inclusive words like "you" "we" and "us." These words appeal to a strong sense of nationalism. They make his American audience feel as though Trump cares about them dearly. This rhetoric is effective when persuading voters to vote for you. 

The Issue of Immigration

The topic of immigration is diverse issue that brings out many of American’s fears, racism, and xenophobia. This is especially apparent in Trump’s rhetoric throughout the campaign. Concerning illegal immigration, Trump believes that there should be a wall that separates the US and Mexican border. This idea is simply absurd. The wall is estimated to cost 8 billion dollars and probably couldn’t be built because of varying terrain. Similarly absurd is Trump’s assertion to ban anymore Muslims from entering the country. All Trump is doing is appealing to the fears and emotions that many American citizens hold.

It is important to remember some of the values of that the US claims to hold, these values would be the ideals of freedom and liberty. Candidates like Trump are dividing the country and forgetting these beliefs. Instead of deporting 11 million illegal immigrants, there should be comprehensive immigration reform. I applaud Obama’s use of executive orders to aid illegal immigrants when the Congress could not reach a decision. Many illegal immigrants who contribute to society live in fear of deportation. Illegal immigrants who entered the country when they were very young only know America as their home. America’s goal should be to find a path to citizenship for hardworking illegal immigrants that are in the country right now. Policies such as DACA or deferred action may grant periodic safeguard from deportation, but it does not lead to a direct path to citizenship. For hard working illegal immigrants who positively contribute to society, there should be a path to citizenship so that they do not have to live in fear of deportation. Instead of deporting those who contribute to society, the government should focus on deporting criminals who affect the safety of the country.

It is also important to address the issue of refugees from Middle East. According to Trump, Muslims should be banned from entering the nation. This assertion is offensive and only creates more damage both at home and abroad. In the nation, this prejudice only causes cultural divides. More assertions like this will also only offend Middle Eastern nations and strains relations. Instead we should welcome refugees, as they are fleeing from rampant violence and their homes have been obliterated by terrorist groups such as ISIS. Of course it is important to keep our country safe. Instead of banning anymore refugees who probably have no ties to terrorism, we should work on bolstering intelligence and dismantling terrorist group’s use of social media to recruit members at home. Overall, the US should work to welcome immigrants rather than turning its head. The US is seen as a bastion of freedom and liberty, and should continue to be seen in this way.

The Land of the Free?

     America is known to be "the land of the free." People have always come to America to start a new life and to create new opportunities that were not previously available. In the heat of the presidential election, the issue of immigration has been a pressing matter. Republican candidates take a more anti immigration stance on the issue. Donald Trump in particular believes that a wall should be built between the United States and Mexico. Americans should not be denying people new opportunities and better lives. Instead, we should work to help immigrants create a striving life for themselves here in the land of the free.
     Many immigrants are unfairly deported and separated from their families. One of the first things that should be done about immigration is to bring back these separated families. People are looking for jobs and success when they come to America, and a lot of times they do these things so that they can support their families. We need to foster the American value of family unity. We cannot live in the land of the free until families are united to live together and support one another.

     While it is important that America continue to uphold its values of being the land of new opportunities, it is still important that we are regulating who is coming to our country. We should reform the visa policy in order to extend our parameters for immigrants. It is important that everyone who does not pose a threat to our national security be allowed to start a new life for themselves. If the regulations are changed for who is allowed to be issued a visa, it will allow many workers to come out of the shadows can become legal immigrants. In the long run, this will benefit the American economy.
      If we do this, we will allow millions of legal immigrants to be able to come out of the shadows and fully start a new life. America cannot be a close off country. We note to open our arms to people who are oppressed in their homes, and allow them to come to American to form a new life for themselves. It needs to be made easier for people to do this because this is what our country is all about. It does not make sense for America to close off its borders to innocent people who are coming to our opportunistic country.

Reestablishing the American Dream

For over half a century, the United States has been the country with the highest international migrant population in the world.  As of 2013, there are over 45 million immigrants living in America (14.3% of the population).  In addition to those 45 million, there are approximately 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States.  Because of this, there is an ongoing debate in America over immigration policies. This debate predominantly focuses on illegal immigrants from Mexico, of which there are 5.6 million living in the U.S. as of 2014 (49% of illegal immigrants).  

Immigration has been especially pertinent in the 2016 presidential election.  Some candidates take firm stances that denounce the current standing of immigration policy in the U.S. and look to decrease our immigrant population drastically while other candidates want to help the millions of immigrants living in our country by granting them some form of citizenship.  In my eyes, given the current immigrant population of the U.S. it would be too difficult and messy to deport all the illegal immigrants in the United States.  A possible solution would be to allow unauthorized immigrants currently working in the U.S. to be given a work visa that allows them to stay in the country as long as they have a stable job, and could even be upgraded to full citizenship in the long-run.  This would create stability in many families that rely on a family member who is in the U.S. illegally.  Most importantly, it would reestablish the American dream for all the people that want to live in o great country. 

Trump Against Cruz

In continuation of their hostility, Republican candidate, Donald Trump, attacks Ted Cruz in his recent immigration advertisement. In Trump's "Clear Difference" ad, Ted Cruz is shown at his worst where he is stumbling over his words and is fickle about his immigration stance. Trump, however, is perfectly clear and collected, sharing his opinion on immigration, such as securing the borders. He appeals to the American people by describing the losses they've experienced because of the illegal immigrants and he utilizes ethos by degrading Cruz in order to build up his own character.

At the beginning of the campaign advertisement, snippets of an interview with Cruz play while banners displaying the accusations "Pro-Amnesty" and "Pro Immigration" appear over them. Between these clips of Cruz, comments such as "What is he talking about?" and "Yeah, right Ted" prominently flash. The combination of these two aspects describe Trump's low opinions of Cruz, which he uses to strengthen his own stature. By attacking the second leading Republican candidate, Trump's reputation and position seem more appealing, thus gaining himself voters. An interview of Trump proudly discussing his viewpoint on immigration then follows the attacks on Cruz. To appeal even more upstanding, there is uplifting and patriotic music playing in the background of his interview.

Throughout this interview, Trump uses particular diction such as "we" and "our" to unite the Americans against the immigrants causing "tremendous damage" to the country. By saying these specific words, he is building the people up to support his platform of "securing the borders" and, to overall, vote for him. All in all, Trump's "Clear Difference" advertisement attacks Cruz to build up his own character and then unifies the audience for secure borders.

Growing up an Immigrant

I was adopted from Guatemala and had to become a citizen to live here. I want many people to have the same citizenship as I have gained. Donald Trump wants to ban Muslims and make a wall to "keep the Mexicans out" but he doesn't realize, without immigrants, the United States as a whole wouldn't be as successful. In 2012 there were 8.1 illegal immigrants looking for jobs or working, That's 5.7% of the U.S. Labor force. Also in 2014 there was 25.7 million foreign-born persons in the U.S. labor force. Isn't that crazy that people want to get rid of that? I also believe that it should be easier for an immigrant to gain their citizenship in the United States rather than in the 1800s where blacks were questioned things that they had never learned or had access too. It's treated almost the same. You shouldn't need to know the history of the United States and you should need to know how the government works in details. The same goes for immigrants! Also, I believe they should be more accepted in this nation because technically, we are all immigrants as well. The colonists still came from England, therefore making the first people here, immigrants. Just because the guy who said, "I started with a small loan of 1 billion dollars" said we should rid of Mexicans/Latinos and Muslims, doesn't make it the right thing to do.

Cruz: "The Invasion"

Ted Cruz recently released an advertisement regarding the importance of immigration regulation. The title of the advertisement, "Invasion," presents Cruz's audience with a sense that Cruz is aware of the growing issue. Throughout the one minute film, Cruz uses several outputs of media and rhetorical devices to strengthen and rally supporters for his immigration plan. In the advertisement, Cruz uses video effects, filming techniques, ethos, and forceful diction to evoke emotion and convey that he will establish firmer border patrols and prevent more illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

The advertisement begins with short, slow motion video of people running (most dressed like lawyers, bankers, etc.) through desert land and water. Each short clip then flashes to a plain black screen, transitioning one short clip to another. In addition, dramatic, 'dooming,' music plays in the background. These added effects establish a serious and overpowering presence. The emotion evoked from these effects make viewers to feel trapped, and as though Cruz will come to their rescue. Cruz's booming voice also supports that he is powerful, and in charge. The business clothing style signifies Cruz's ironic point that most illegal immigrants are often not associated in any higher, business occupations. Cruz tries to prove that if illegal immigrants were taking the jobs of lawyers and bankers, then the immigration issue would be much more on Americans' radar. Cruz states, "And I would say that the politics of it would be very, very different if a lot of lawyers or bankers were crossing the Rio Grande." Through the advertisement, Cruz emphasizes the growing need to fix the immigration problem.

Furthermore, the camera is often at a higher angle, suggesting that the people running are vulnerable to Cruz's aggressive immigration plan. The people running are also shown at a faster speed, further implying the increasing number of illegal immigrants, and that the rapid 'invasion' of illegal immigration is detrimental to America's economic system.

Moreover, Cruz uses his ethos and demanding language to evoke more support for his campaign. He says, “I understand that when the mainstream media covers immigration, it doesn’t often see it as an economic issue. But, I can tell you it is a very personal economic issues." Cruz uses words such as 'I,' 'you,' and 'personal' not only to connect with his audience, but also to establish that he knows how to fix the overflow of illegal immigrants and that he will be taken seriously. Cruz additionally forcefully expresses, "...the economic calamity that is befalling our nation." Cruz is aware that the issue must be solved and repeatedly uses a tone that demonstrates leadership and power. He then goes on to conclude as his logo (TrusTED) appears,“If I’m elected President, we will triple the border control, we will build a wall that works, we WILL secure the border." His logo displays the sense of alliance and true emotional connection that most Americans strive for when electing a president. Cruz believes on taking the initiative to bring attention to the growing problem before it can get worse.

One of Many of Trump's Logical Fallacies

Luckily enough for us, with Trump’s participation in the 2016 campaign there is an abundance of logical fallacies. Trump’s recent response to a photo of president Obama playing basketball is not exception to his reputation of logical fallacy. On Twitter, Trump posted, “Why is Obama playing basketball today? That is why our country is in trouble!”

This remark is a hasty generalization. It concludes that because Obama was spotted playing basketball, that he is supposedly creating problems in our country. Trump’s tweet assumes that while Obama is shooting hoops, he is slacking on the job. This statement is a hasty generalization the fact that Obama is playing basketball has nothing to do with our nation’s problems. Trump makes an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence. He concludes the reason that our country is in trouble without considering all of the variables.

Trump’s tweet is also an ad hominem. He personally attacks Obama for all of the nation’s flaws. He argues against a person rather than a position they are maintaining. Trump rarely attacks a person’s opinion, he always goes straight for the person, which shows how he lacks the necessary knowledge for the campaign debates.

In this tweet and in many of his others, Trump uses absurd logical fallacies in an attempt to "prove" his ideas.

Trump's Use of Fear in Order to Quell Fear

Presidential Candidate Donald Trump is all but soft-spoken on the topic of immigration in the US. In an interview in November 2015, Trump was asked what his plan for immigration reform would be if he were to be elected president. Trump responded that there was a need for total reform on the topic of immigration, and attempted to persuade his audience to agree to his radical ideas. Even before he answered the question, Trump began by citing some recent horrific events that have been perpetrated by "illegal immigrants". He first explains the story of an illegal immigrant who "just kept running over" a police officer with his car. He then goes on to talk about another case, one in which a woman was kidnapped, raped, and killed by an immigrant. By beginning with these two cases, and telling the audience that "incidents like this occur every day", he appeals to the listeners' pathos. He makes the audience feel scared and unsafe by telling him these things, which effectively sets him up to give his audience a "solution" to the problem he has just created. These statements also establish exigence, because he is presenting the threat as immediate and domestic, which makes the listener feel threatened and vulnerable.

Later on in the speech, Trump continues to appeal to pathos as he is explaining his plan to "build a wall" around the Unites States in order to keep out illegal immigrants. As he is laying out his plan, he continuously repeats the word "illegal", enforcing the idea that these immigrants should not be here and should be thrown out of the country. This appeals to his audience's pathos in the form of anger. By reinforcing the claim that immigrants do not belong in America, Trump makes his audience feel angry at the "unfairness" that is present in America. Through many appeals to pathos, Trump successfully persuades his audience to support his ideas.

McCain Utilizes Ethos and Camera Techniques

In John McCain's 2010 advertisement on illegal immigration titled, "Complete the Danged Fence," McCain argues that he will unite all levels of law enforcement (troops, local, state, and federal) in order to stop illegal immigration into Arizona. McCain also states that he wishes to build a fence around the southern border of the United States to also fight illegal immigration. In his advertisement, McCain appeals to ethos by employing the use of a police officer in order to legitimize the belief that his political views are what are best for America. McCain also utilizes bright lighting and close up camera shots in order to give the advertisement a personal feel and to make his audience feel secure in his ideas.

As McCain is walking along the border of Arizona and Mexico, he is alongside a police officer. The officer comments on McCain's plan, saying that it is "perfect" and towards the end of the advertisement, the officer says to McCain, "you're one of us." Law enforcement is often viewed as reliable authority: people you can trust and count on to have your best interest and safety in mind. By associating himself with the authorities, McCain enhances his credibility as a man individual's can trust and count on. Also, by having the officer say that McCain's plan is the right plan, McCain's ideas appear to be on the side of the nation and seem to have the best interest of the people. McCain utilizes law enforcement in order to enhance his position as a man who can be counted on and a man who wants to keep America safe.

McCain utilizes various film techniques throughout his ad in order to make himself authoritative and dependable. Throughout the advertisement, the shot is often close up to McCain's face. This close up shot makes the advertisement seems more personal. It almost puts the audience into the advertisement and makes them feel as if they are walking alongside McCain and the officer. By making the audience feel apart of the advertisement, McCain creates the illusion that he is directly addressing the fears and needs of advertisement audience members. As well as using camera angles, McCain also utilizes bright lighting to add a positive and secure note to the advertisement. As McCain is talking about his plan regarding illegal immigration, the bright lighting makes McCain's plan appear secure and with good intentions. The bright lighting also makes audiences feel optimistic and makes McCain appear reliable. 

In his advertisement, "Complete the Danged Fence," McCain utilizes an appeal to ethos and camera techniques in order to make himself appear empathetic, trustworthy, and optimistic. McCain encourages his advertisement viewers to support his plan to unite law enforcement and to build a fence between the United States and Mexico in order to fight illegal immigration in Arizona. 

Rhetoric in Film Techniques

As shown by the Iowa caucuses last week, Trump's biggest opponent is Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential race. This attack ad, created by Trump's campaign team, charges Cruz with inconsistency in his immigration policy. However, the ad is mostly made effective through the editing and sound of the video. 

The excerpt from an interview with Ted Cruz is on a television screen, making him seem distant and impersonal. Behind the television, the background is dark and grimy, reminding a viewer of a dirty floor. The text is surrounded by a dark shade of red which is often associated with blood or death. Slow, eerie music is played during the video of Cruz stuttering and looking generally flustered. The editing goes even further by cutting off Cruz before he is able to explain or justify his support of an immigration reform bill.

To contrast the seemingly menacing Cruz, Trump appears on the screen. The video of Trump is full screen and it seems like he is talking directly to the audience. The grim background is gone and the text is surrounded by a sky blue color, often associated with optimism and progress. The music is characteristic of hopefulness and patriotism. Trump seems self-assured, powerful and ready to be our leader, all without even listening to what he is actually saying. 

The real rhetorical devices of campaign ads are not often in what they say, but how they characterize the candidates through various filming techniques. Sound, colors and composition all contributed to the effectiveness of this campaign ad. If only voters could see through what he's actually proposing for the United States.

Trump's Impact on Muslim's Everyday Life

Donald Trump is a well-known racist. Sadly, that is one of the main reasons he is doing so well in the 2016 election. He separates America into group with whites, especially more wealthy whites on the top. While most people would agree that at the bottom of his list, are Muslims. According to Trump's popular slogan, "Make America Great Again", that includes banning Muslims from coming to our country. The country that is supposed to be the land of the free, opportunity, and a new chance for all. 



Amara Majeed wrote an open letter to Donald Trump. It describes what he is doing to turn her home into her hell. She writes, "You are creating an atmosphere in which my entire identity is reduced to narrow-minded bias based on my skin color, my last name, and what I choose to wear on my head.  It therefore becomes justifiable to marginalize me, to scrutinize me, to use physical violence to hurt me". Donald Trump realizes that he is a popular man, both from love and hate. The power that he holds and the words that he speaks are heard by Americans all over. Those words can and do change and impact people's day, and it's mostly never for good. America is a country of religious freedom, but yet Muslims all over get terrorized for fulfilling their right to the 1st Amendment. 

Around 3.3 million people in America are Muslim. Donald Trump is publicly making these 3.3 million people's everyday life harder and harder. He is not even the president, or ever truly been in politics and is negatively impacting their lives already. He would preach that being Muslim is un-American and put shame to a belief that is everything but shameful.