Why Blame Mexico - Article Review Essay Sample

Why blame Mexico is an article about immigration in America and its policy. According to this article, the United States despises immigration laws set by the Mexican government, and it does almost nothing to stop illegal immigration although it is considered a great offense. For instance, the US government has not set any specific penalties for illegal immigrants who are charged with the crime, the immigrants are discouraged from crossing the border but when they do they are given jobs, drivers licenses, their children are admitted to schools and citizenship for their children who are born in the US among other things (Fred 15). This is a clear indication that the United States' immigration policy is contradictory. The politicians also play a significant role in illegal immigration because they need immigrants. For instance, the conservative Republicans support immigration because they are in need of cheap and reliable labor while the liberals support immigration because they think it is the right thing to do. From this article, Mexico has a more stable and reasonable immigration policy than the United States. All that is needed for one to live in Mexico is a valid visa and a considerable amount of income thus none can enter into Mexico illegally. It is hard to say the same for America because it does not have a distinct immigration policy; therefore, there are so many illegal immigrants. To appeal to the readers that lack of enough strict regulations of unlawful immigration is the reason why there are so many illegal immigrants in America, the author applies different rhetorical strategies including different tone, logic, rhetorical questions, comparison and ambiguity among others. This paper will analyze the use of some of these rhetorical strategies to persuade, trigger emotion and execute reasoning.

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First, the author uses logos, which is also referred to as a logical appeal to intrigue the audience, which is composed of both liberal citizens and conservative Republicans without bias (Higgins and Walker55). The author also uses persuasive tactics to appeal to the audience. Following the author's admission, the liberals believe that immigrants should be allowed to cross the border because this makes America seem decent while the conservatives need the immigrants for their readily available cheap labor (Fred 13). In light of this, the author is trying to conduct an assessment based on the two views to help the audience make a judgment whether they should pardon illegal immigrants for pursuing a life in the United States or they should be blamed for their actions. He manages to persuade the audience that immigrants should not be blamed for America's failed immigration policy stating facts that America creates opportunities for these immigrants that their own country may not be able to provide, but they casually tell them not to cross the border. He argues that if people are willing to risk everything to change their own lives, they at least deserve to be given a chance to do that.

On the other hand, the author uses pathos to evoke the feelings of the audience (Higgins and Walker 42). He manages to do this by employing a structure of communication in line with this argument he takes them to an emotional state when he explains how risky it is to try and break the law for a more magnificent course and then finally backs it up with reliable facts. He uses dramatic irony to stir the audience's emotions where he says: "See this river? Don't cross it. If you do, we'll give you good jobs, driver's licenses, citizenship for your kids born here, a school for said kids, public...etc." (Fred 20). By using this strategy, he can persuade the audience that the situation is unfortunate because all immigrants want is a better life. Using this strategy supports the author's intentions as it makes his article interesting as opposed to an information-filled boring article. This, therefore, makes it logical and highly persuasive towards the audience.

Besides, the author uses the comparison to appeal to the imagination of the audience. He makes the viewer imagine how irresponsible parents would be not to cross the border and provide their children with a better life when he says: "How smart is that? We're baiting them. It's like putting out a salt lick and then complaining when deer come" (Fred 9). This statement makes him persuade the audience that the American government is luring immigrants to cross the broader although it casually prohibits them from crossing the border. He triggers the audience to compare between the opportunities these immigrants are exposed to in America as opposed to those in Mexico before deciding what the most responsible decision an immigrant parent would make. He also uses rhetorical questions quite too often in this article to make the audience experience a personal tone when reading this article. For instance, he says: "America doesn't have to accept them. If it does, whose problem is that?" (Fred 12). By putting a question mark at the end of that statement, he does not necessarily expect the audience to answer it but rather to meditate on whose fault it is that there are so many illegal immigrants. He uses this style to influence the audience towards his view in a subtle manner. The rhetorical questions asked throughout the text are not used so that the audience can answer them. They are either used to get the audience thinking or to emphasize on a point.

In conclusion, the author's primary intention in this article is to persuade the audience that America has thoughtlessly adopted an unwise immigration policy that lacks enough strict restrictions for illegal immigration and now that the government cannot reverse it, it blames Mexico for it. He uses an emotional, logical, and persuasive and a factual perspective to help the audience understand his point of view and he has managed to do that following his choice of words and rhetorical strategies discussed in the text above.

Works cited

Fred, Reed. "Why Blame Mexico?". The American Conservative, 2018, https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-1455100521/why-blame-mexico. Accessed 27 July 2018.

Higgins, Colin, and Robyn Walker. "Ethos, logos, pathos: Strategies of persuasion in social/environmental reports." Accounting Forum. Vol. 36. No. 3. Elsevier, 2012.