Address to the Nation on Immigration

Address to the Nation on Immigration

The United States of America has a long history of immigration, and is a country build on immigrants. As Barack Obama mentions in his speech, “Address to the Nation on Immigration” from 2014, Americans have been welcoming immigrants for more than 200 years and how much they have affected the country. The former President addresses the issue on illegal immigration, how the immigration system is not working and his plans for decreasing the number of people illegally staying or coming to the United States. He mentions that he already has tried to make changes in the immigration system, but the Congress has not signed the bill to make these changes. Therefore, he takes the lead, and introduces the population to three steps, who help decreasing the numbers of illegal immigrants. First, he will have more people joining the law enforcement personnel at the border to Mexico. Second, he will make it easier for high-skilled immigrants, graduates and entrepreneurs to stay in the country. Third, he will, responsibly, deal with the millions of undocumented immigrants. He wants to deport the criminals – not the families. He also wants the illegal immigrants to come forward – register themselves, and the government will not charge them. To support his arguments, on why they should let the illegal immigrants stay in the US, he mentions a woman, called Astrid Silva, as a good example of an immigrant who made it in the system – without being in it. This is a good example of how Obama uses his language to manipulate the listeners, in a both good and bad way.

The former President addresses the issues by using his ethos, pathos and logos to support his arguments. For example, when he mentions the young woman, Astrid Silva, he uses pathos. “Astrid was brought to America when she was four years old. Her only possessions were a cross, her doll, and the frilly dress she had on.” Here he uses the theme, “family”, to represent pathos in his speech. This is a way for the listener or reader, to emphasize with the illegal immigrants, and not with the ones who come to America to commit crimes. “This deal does not apply to anyone who has come to this country recently. It does not apply to anyone who might come to America illegally in the future.” (l. 63-64) Furthermore, he uses logos to argue for his case. For example, when he mentions that it is impossible to deport every illegal immigrant in the US, which applies to the logical mindset of the listeners. Additionally, he also uses his ethos to connect with the audience and to involve the audience in his speech. “Families who enter our country the right way and play by the rules watch others flout the rules.” Here, he is using possessive pronouns to engage himself and the audience in the speech, which also creates a fellow-feeling between the Presidents and the listeners. B. Obama uses these linguistic devices to convince the American citizens to accept these initiatives. Although he uses a lot of forms of appeal, he also uses a lot of other linguistic devices, and the forms of appeal are just a small part of these. Symbols, such as the woman, Astrid Silva, who is a symbol on the illegal immigrants in the US. The story about the young immigrant is trying to get the American people to take pity on them, but also showing the reality of how many illegal immigrants struggle with just living life. Rhetorical questions are also a big part of this speech, with Obama asking what kind of country they want to be and how they want the future generation to look on the importance of immigration. The rhetorical questions are used to start a debate, but also to support the statements of Obama and making the audience agree with him. Rhetorical questions are manipulative and therefore it is a commonly used linguistic tool in speeches.