Immigration – The Neglected

Introduction

Undocumented immigrants entering the United States has been on a persistent rise. They commonly cross the border or stay past their visa date and must consider the risk of being deported for violation of unlawful stay.

“Children of Undocumented Immigrants” and “HHS official says he would never have supported family separation tactics” provides information on citizenship depending on the status of birth. Children who arrived with an adult does not have the immediate right to citizenship; their process remains difficult. On the contrary, children who were born in the United States can gain the right to citizenship base on soil birth, regards on the citizenship status of the parent will be overlooked. The CNN Wire speaks about the “zero tolerance” policy implemented by Trump administration’s which resulted in thousands of children being separated from their undocumented parents. Human and Health Services have “identified 2,737 children who were separated from their parents”.

In “Trump Asks for Unity but Presses Hard Line on Immigration” by Peter Baker, Baker sets out to dissect Trump’s second State of the Union address to Congress on immigration. Trump’s intention was to focus was on unity and cooperation between the government, to approach issues in the same fashion. However, his speech and future goals for the nation speaks otherwise.

In a survey-based article from “Real-life stories help change views on immigration”, Garcia elaborates on her findings. Many felt that immigration has a positive effect on the economy. Kevin Appleby, senior director for international migration policy at the Center for Migration Studies of New York delivers his view by stating, “People understand that the country needs to welcome immigrants and that they’re part of our growth–both economically and socially”.

Rhetorical Situation

Commander Jonathan White who is concern begins by saying the policies will “… expose children to unnecessary risk of harm” (CNN). “Children of Undocumented Immigrants” and “HHS official says he would never have supported family separation tactics” share a common ground, to expand on the policies relating to the children of undocumented immigrants due to the media recognition it has received. The term citizenship jus soli translate into citizenship determined by soil which became the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Under this circumstance, children born in the United States have the right to citizenship (Gale). The zero-tolerance act has affected thousands of children and their families. Many organizations have seek out to tackle family separation. The Flores settlement rules that minors separate from their parents will be put into the hands of its relatives or a government program.

To highlights the second State of Union address to Congress by Trump in “Trump Asks for Unity but Presses Hard Line on Immigration”, Baker writes about the various concerns circulating the nation today. Trump’s desire to implement stricter immigration policies and attempting to build a wall along the southwestern border does not comply with his goal of harmony (Baker).

After a survey was conducted by the Pew Research Center, “Real-life stories help change views on immigration” examines the results from the survey. Reasons of crossing the border are reveal, ones that are often tragic and heartbreaking. The goal is to gain a better understanding of their restrained opportunity staying in their country. On one account, Appleby explained that “One mother told me the gangs killed her husband and threatened her. Another family came after the gangs were trying to force their teenage daughter to join–to basically become their sex slave” (Garcia).

The preceding articles were the byproduct of immigration regulations on children, Trump’s response to the issue, as well as a survey to see the perspective from the public eye.

Purpose

“Children of Undocumented Immigrants” brings awareness to the prevalent issue in society today, immigration and its effect on children being put into this situation. It is intended to inform college students as it is published in the library database for a reason. It is an issue that not only affects the immigrants and its children, but more so the relationship between the United States and other countries the immigrants are coming from. After a child has been apart from their parents, it is common that mental ability to regain connection begins to disrupt which can become an issue even later in life (Gale).

“HHS official says he would never have supported family separation tactics” and “Trump Asks for Unity but Presses Hard Line on Immigration” both identify the moral aspect on America’s role to the inflowing immigration problem. The articles examines whether it is the government’s job to enforce policies to prevent more unlawful stay. White criticizes the government by stating, “I feel confident in saying that the family separation practice is the worst thing I have seen in my 25 plus years” (CNN). On the other hand, as the president of the United States, it is important to report and recap the issues and reforms Trump wishes to proceed with in the future regarding this nation. During Trump’s address, emphasis was placed on unity between the branches of government, but his goals remain rather difficult because he has taken the act of a partial government shutdown to help raise funds to build a wall which is symbolic of division and disunity (Baker).

“Real-life stories help change views on immigration” reveals life stories to shift the prejudice people have on immigrants. Immigration is not only a political issue, but a human rights issue. There are “hundreds of immigrants from Guatemala and Honduras who are fleeing violence” (Garcia). In the poll from The Quinnipiac University, it is discovered that separation of children from families is considered as invasion of human rights. From the poll, eighty three percent felt that it was the government’s duty to reconstruct the broke ties between families that were destroyed by immigration officials. White stands with the poll result stating that “inconsistent with our legal requirement to act in the best interest of the child” (CNN).

Most of the articles were published to identify the political subject circulating immigration and serves to inform and spread knowledge. However, the last article is meant to alter the preconceptions on immigrants.

Audience

“Children of Undocumented Immigrants” was issued in the library database for those attending City Universities of New York which college students have direct access to. It was written for those researching or concerned with the social issue of undocumented immigrants and deportation. The policies involved can help undocumented immigrants understand their position with the government and law as well as assist in updating the public on the policies around them. The Pew Research Center states that as early as 2001, children of undocumented immigrants have attributed to about seven to nine percent of babies born as compare to the 1980’s when it was reported to be two percent. The statistics of the rising immigration rate introduces a wider range of people who are growing interest on this topic.

Conversely, “HHS official says he would never have supported family separation tactics” and “Trump Asks for Unity but Presses Hard Line on Immigration”are both derived from private organizations. CNN Wire and The New York Times reports news ranging from global issues to politics, entertainment, and health. These reports are carried out to the people who watch the news. As citizenships and those residing in the United States, it is crucial to be alert about what Trump has to say. Because the texts was printed in the politics section, those who are interested in political issues would be more plausible to read such an article. Friends, families, and relatives related to immigration are prone to be attentive of the zero-tolerance enforcement. As a senior of the Department of Health and Human Services, unease was addressed “about separating families apprehended at the US-Mexico border” (CNN) which could be important for someone related to watch.

The magazine was published in the Politics and Society section of the Jesuits webpage. The Jesuits is a religious group that aims for education, missionary, and charitable works. They utilized life stories which is meant to provoke the human emotion. Therefore, it is targeted towards the public and more likely those who are hostile about immigration, in hopes of changing their views. These stories strive to provoke their feelings.

The main audience for the articles is the public who reads or watches the news. The Gale Cengage Company would be used for researches while the survey by the Jesuits are directed towards changing opinions.

Genre

“Children of Undocumented Immigrants” is determined to be a monograph because it deals with a specific theme on a educational matter. It is published by Gale, a Cengage Company. Immigration has become a popular social issue topic among many ranging from the political standpoint to relatives of the immigrants to others residing in the United States.

“HHS official says he would never have supported family separation tactics” and “Trump Asks for Unity but Presses Hard Line on Immigration” is focus mainly on reporting the current events. The articles have a headline across the page with byline as well as the date of publication distinguishes the following as a newspaper article. They are written directly following the speech which shows the freshness and consciousness to the topic. Besides, the abundance of advertisements above and beside the text only proves that it is a news article but is also a private company as income is needed from the advertisement. CNN Wire is accompanied by direct quotes taken from people holding office positions and portions of Trump’s speech was arranged in a video format placed above the headline.

“Real-life stories help change views on immigration” is short and simple to read, about one page in length. It is identified to be a piece of magazine because it informs and entertains the audience with knowledge that is interesting and relatable. Furthermore, there are a variety of graphs and charts provided to help the reader visualize the statistics.

Stance

“Children of Undocumented Immigrants” and “HHS official says he would never have supported family separation tactics” are unbiased in the debate on the status of the children of undocumented immigrants is ongoing; to gain citizenship or not. The author at Gale considers both spectrums of the story. While some argue that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was derived from the former slaves of the Civil War, others refute the controversy by explaining that whether the clause was carried out or not, the situation on illegal immigrants will not change. Similarity, it is evidential from the quotations that CNN was utilizing factual accounts of what was said in response to the events rather than the writer summarizing and tweaking the information.

“Trump Asks for Unity but Presses Hard Line on Immigration” and “Real-life stories help change views on immigration” biased towards immigration. While Baker highlights the views the Democrats and the Republics have in reaction to the speech presented by Trump, his personal view is effortlessly shown through his extreme word choice. Baker shows that Trump’s statement was unreliable by describing the ending of his address as an “uncharacteristic effort at poetry”. The word choice Baker resorts discredits Trump’s address. Garcia takes the survey as prove that the magazine is unbiased. However, because the article was formulated by Jesuits, it is safe to note that the writing was indeed bias towards getting rid of prejudices surrounding immigrants. Those who hold citizenship in the United States are afraid of undocumented immigrants becoming criminals in America, while all they yearn for is to be away from violence and criminals and the Jesuit’s goal is to change that judgement.

Works Cited

“Children of Undocumented Immigrants.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection,

Gale, 2018. Opposing Viewpoints in Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/PC3010999243/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=OVIC&

id=68645fb9.

Baker, Peter. “Trump Asks for Unity, but Presses Hard Line on Immigration.” The New

York Times, 5 Feb. 2019,

www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/us/politics/trump-state-of-the-union.html.

“HHS official says he would never have supported family separation tactics.” CNN

Wire, 7 Feb. 2019. Global Issues in Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A573037969/OVIC?u=cuny_ccny&sid=OVIC&xid

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