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                                                                                              Rhetorical Analysis: Dehumanizing the Undocumented 

Introduction:

In this article, "Dehumanizing the Undocumented," published in May, 2006 in the online journal Counter Punch, authors and professors Douglas A. Parker and Tanya Maria Golash-Boza state their immigration policy statement. The article begins by stating the number of undocumented immigrants have come in the last few years. Then the authors describe how the undocumented are being dehumanized. Lastly they make a suggestion for everyone to think about the discrimination that is being done when we are not looking.

Logos:

The content of this article uses logos more than anything, it uses data, logic and evidence. In this article, it says from where the undocumented immigrants have come from and how many approximately. " There are at least 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. Any plan as to what to do about this special population must take into account its sheer size." (Parker, Douglas A. and Boza-Golash, Tanya Maria, 2006) Undocumented immigrants come looking for jobs to help them get a better life and future for their families.

In the middle of the article it talks about the Sensenbrenner bill--HR 4437--proposes that these 11 million people be converted into felons, and detained or deported. Many people agree to this while others know that almost 15 percent of the workers are made up of undocumented immigrants in a number of industries.

In the end, the authors suggest that we ask ourselves why undocumented workers are so easily dehumanized in the US, we can remind ourselves of the legacy of racism of this country. The US needs to do something about it. Then it brings a little bit of history to explain why we have be come so discriminant. "In the US, just as the post 9-11 legislation in the US made it almost a crime to look like an Arab, the current US proposals could make it almost a crime to look Mexican." (Parker, Douglas A. and Boza-Golash, Tanya Maria, 2006)

Pathos:

The authors do not use much of pathos, although they do talk about how the dehumanizing puts stress on the undocumented and their families due to that they are not free in this country. Suppose, for example, the immigrants' children, who have been attending school, pass this requirement, but the parents, who live in an immigrant enclave, fail to pass the test. They go through so much to live in this country of opportunities. When the undocumented are deported, the children suffer due to the fact that they are taken from their families and sent back to Mexico when they have lived their whole life in the United States.

The author denotes and makes others feel what these families are going through and suffering. It is hard to be undocumented, raising a family and on top of that having to work in the hardest and most difficult jobs. They do not deserve to be treated as if they were not humans."They also found that many companies took advantage of workers' immigration status and lack of knowledge of their rights in the US to deny them their rights as workers. Overall, they found that the meatpacking industry is characterized by unsafe working conditions, very high rates of injury, and constant abuse from superiors." (Parker, Douglas A. and Boza-Golash, Tanya Maria, 2006) "But poor immigrants from Mexico, Central and South America, or other countries in the Global South that walk across deserts, swim across rivers, or climb over fences are a different population." (Parker, Douglas A. and Boza-Golash, Tanya Maria, 2006) They do not want to steal they want to work for what they need and want. It is not fair for us as United States citizens not do anything to help them or to even go along and treat them as inhuman.

Ethos:

The author, Douglas A. Parker is a professor of Sociology at Cal State University at Long Beach.

The author, Tanya Maria Golash-Boza is an Assistant Professor Department of Sociology and Program in American Studies at the University of Kansas.

They are both are members of the organization called Sociologists Without Borders, they believe that all people have equal rights to political freedoms and legal protections, to socioeconomic security, to self-determination, and to their personality no matter their race, culture, sex, faith, where they live, or what they think. The United States chapter has members from many countries. Sociologists Without Borders is opposed to militarism, opposed to states that oppress their citizens, and condemns racism and violence against women. Both authors study about the undocumented and how the United States view them.

Conclusion:

This article basically wants to tell others about what we do not know about the undocumented. It is trying to inform others about the racism and discrimination to those that are illegal here in the United States. Many immigrants aspire to have a better future and life when others are ruining it. It is stated that it is hard to be undocumented because one does not have the same rights as a United States citizen.