TOW #11 President Obama's Thursday Night Speech on Immigration

       On my way home from the NHS induction Thursday night, I turned on the radio and heard president Obama giving his speech on immigration. I thought to myself, 'this would be great TOW material," and I tuned in. I listened, not only as a citizen, but as an analyzer, and appreciated the rhetoric Obama used in his powerful speech. President Obama, using statistics, a logical counterargument, and a moving immigrant story, spoke to all Americans that he will fix the immigration system of America and protect the rights of immigrants, relieving them of deportation.
       After addressing the nation, Obama quickly moved on to the statistics of the situation in order to establish a basis in his argument. He recites the facts that there are ":more agents and technology deployed to secure our southern border than at anytime in our history," that "there was a brief spike in unaccompanied children being apprehended at our border, the number of such children is actually lower than it's been in nearly two years," and "overall the number of people trying to cross our border illegally is at its lowest level since the 1970s." Subsequently, he states, "those are the facts." This allows listeners to understand that these were absolute facts and it appeals to the logos of his argument. Listeners now know that there was change during Obama's presidency and that immigration reform wasn't in a state of paralysis, but it is important to make permanent change in the matter.
       Obama also excellently refutes the other side, which quells the opposing argument and builds his own. After Obama speak about his plan to allow more rights for immigrants, he immediately talks about "what it isn't." His plan "does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently" or to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future," "it does not grant citizenship or the right to stay here permanently." Here, Obama seals off the possible holes in his argument that critics could say and disproves them. This makes Obama's argument stronger and less prone to disagreement.
        Near the end of his speech, Obama used the story of Astrid Silva, an immigrant success, to evoke the empathy for immigrants and show what an immigrant can do with their life in America. This girl moved to America at age 4 not knowing any English and "she caught up to other kids by reading newspapers and watching PBS." Her family was undocumented, so when her grandmother in Mexico, who Silva loved so dearly, passed away, Silva couldn't even attend her grandmother's funeral due to fear of deportation. "It was around that time she decided to begin advocating for herself and others like her. And today Astrid Silva is a college student working on her third degree." This powerful story shows 'the American dream' and what people can make of their lives in America, but due to the broken immigration system, a hardworking woman cannot even attend a family member's funeral. This appeals to the pathos of Obama's audience and humanizes the immigrant, creating the atmosphere for reform in immigration policy that Obama wishes to make.