1

Eric Rondeau
Rhetorical Analysis + PSA
Fielding 12:20-1:10
16 February 2016
Illegal Immigrants harm U.S. Citizens
Illegal immigrants have been invading America as long as this country has been alive.
But recently these illegals have been hurting the U.S. economy. Thousands of Mexicans have
poured into our country and have been taking the jobs of hardworking Americans. The rhetoric
of Michael Cutlers Opposing Viewpoints argument and Eric Rondeaus PSA rely on ethos,
pathos, and logos to depict the negative consequences illegal immigrants have on the American
economy.
The author of this piece has a main claim that the illegal immigrants of this country are
taking jobs from the hardworking Americans to the extent that they can no longer support
themselves and their families. Cutler claims that the breadwinners are having their jobs taken
away because someone will take less money for it, causing them to foreclose on their houses. He
also claims that with all the jobs lost, it has increased the poverty rate as many families cannot
support themselves anymore. The article is geared mostly toward the hardworking middle class
farmers who need to work for a living and will do it at a suitable wage. This argument is more of
a conversational piece because it can relate to anyone and has a very strong emotional
attachment to it unlike scholarly articles which do not allow others to form their own opinion.
The way that he structured it was by using a topical organization to have us focus on specific

parts of a bigger issue. Items such as societies referees and Preventing the Entry of Harmful
Aliens help to show what will be discussed in that section of the article.
Cutler displays ethos in his opening paragraph and elaborates on it throughout the article.
He started by showing what organization he worked for before writing the article. Cutler worked
for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The organization works to control the
immigration of people to the country and to see the amount who are becoming naturalized
citizens (Cutler P.1). This gives him a lot of credibility because it shows how close he has
worked with people coming into our country, whether they are legal or not. The current
organization Cutler works for is Californians for Population Stabilization. This is an organization
that advocates for policies that limit immigration (Cutler, P.1). Cutlers new job shows what his
thoughts toward immigration are. They arent in the belief that we need to keep having
immigrants come into our country. Another way Cutler displays ethos is that he has had works of
his published before this article. This makes him a credible source because the article he had
written before was on immigration laws and how they need to be enforced. This also allows his
opinion to be heard. With all of these components, the author is trustworthy and credible enough
to make the claim that illegal immigrants are taking the jobs of hardworking Americans.
The next component shown is the logos with the facts and logic the author shows
throughout this article. He starts out by stating how obvious it is that if more people are in the
country, the less jobs that would be available (Cutler, P.7). To put it in the context Cutler explains
it, the less illegal immigrants coming into our country to take our jobs, the more jobs will be
available for the American people. Cutler then brings up how the government is allowing illegals
to make a mockery of the American system implemented. The government has allowed these so
called dreamers to take the rightful jobs of legal citizens. The people against this are the ones

who have had their lives altered by such acts which are supposed to help them, but actually
benefit the ones not paying taxes. The largest problem the author has with illegals, is the affect
the have on the American economy. Foreign workers entering the job market create an unfair and
illegal competition for American workers who need those jobs to make an honest living (Cutler,
P.10). The author puts it in a way that the immigrants are doing work for less than minimum
wage, making it unfair to the people who should be getting the jobs because they cannot compete
with someone that is willing to work that cheap. The author presents enough factual evidence to
support his position on this issue and allows people to make their own opinion based on the
evidence provided.
Cutler uses pathos in a variety of ways that really capture the readers feelings to help
sway their opinions. One of the ways Cutler creates a sense of pathos is by stating how millions
of Americans are either unemployed or underemployed (P.4). By just saying this it can relate to
the already millions of unemployed workers, or the average man who is barely making enough to
support his family. Another example the author uses is how he summarized what an economist
said in a statement to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Immigration. He summarized the
statement by claiming the main point was to call the American people Privileged Elite (Cutler
P.14). This could be used to draw support against this specific economist and allow common
Americans to resonate with Cutler by claiming that they are neither privileged nor elite. This
tactic can also be thought of as a way to allow the reader to side with the authors position as it
tries to show that people support the group of individuals taking jobs from the targeted reader.
Using these separate tactics, the author conveys a strong message of pathos and emotional appeal
with his reader.

Illegal immigrants trying to come in this country and

steal our jobs.

The main claim of this PSA is to instill a sense of fear in the readers eyes. This is by
showing how easily it is for them to come into our country; and if its that easy to get in the
country, how easy is it to take others jobs? This PSA is portrayed this way to try and convince
the viewers of it to stand up the illegal immigrants coming into the country every day. The
intended audience is the hardworking Americans and people around the borders of Mexico to try
and have them stop illegal immigration. The colors black and red to convey that it is a negative
thing happening right now in America. The logo used from the Department of Homeland
Security evokes a sense of credibility with the picture.
This image instills a sense of ethos and credibility through the different references he
points to. The first section of the written part the creator uses a quote from the article. This
allows the PSA to be a credible source by citing a source from the verbal argument article.
Another way the creator of this image instills ethos is by showing a picture of the Department of
Homeland Security. This allows the image to be credible by backing it with a respected

government agency whose duty it is to keep our borders safe from outside harm. Through these
ways, the PSA demonstrates a sense of credibility in the image.
One way that the PSA conveys logos is in the red text. It states watch out or it may
happen to you too. This can make the reader uses a sense of logic to show that if some peoples
jobs are being taken, what is the probability theirs will be taken as well? The creator also allows
the reader to make a reasonable case about the topic by placing it in a logical order. The creator
put it in as a fact first, then as an inference so that it makes sense chronologically.
The way the author instills pathos in this PSA is by using different strategies such as
color and picture. Using the colors red and black the PSA instills a sense of a bad thing
happening in this picture. The reason is that these seem to be dark colors in most readers minds.
Another way the creator instills a sense of pathos is by his use of the main background picture.
The picture is of two illegal immigrants coming into our country without any obstacles. This may
make the readers feel strongly and advocate for increased border control to stop the lack of
obstacles needed to make it into our country.
Cutler advocates that illegal immigrants have been a cancer to the workforce in America.
Something must be done or someone has to step up so that they no-longer keep taking our jobs.
The PSA compliments the verbal argument very well as it is able to show a picture of what is
discussed in the verbal portion. Overall, the verbal argument is a stronger argument as it allows
for more facts and has a higher sense of credibility. Through the writer and creators use of ethos,
logos and pathos, they are able to show that illegal immigration is something harmful to the
United States workforce, and livelihood.

Works Cited
Brown, Tim. "Who Says That Illegal Immigration Doesn't Hurt Americans? - Freedom
Outpost." Freedom Outpost. Freedom Outpost, 22 June 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

Cutler, Michael. "Open Borders Hurt US Workers." Should the US Close Its Borders? Ed. Louise
Gerdes. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2014. At Issue. Rpt. of "Leveling the Playing Field
for American Workers." 20 Oct. 2012: n. pag. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5 Feb.
2016.

"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services." GovCentral. GovCentral, 2016. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.