Illegal immigrants can do this is by using rhetorical virtue. Rhetorical virtue is the tactic of adapting to the values of the audience, and making them feel like you embody those values (Heinrichs, 2013). There are a few ways in which illegal immigrants can do this, the first is by talking about how their families will be split up if the immigration plan is executed. If two illegal immigrants give birth to a child in the United States, that child will be considered a United States citizen. The problem with this though is that once Trump starts deporting illegal immigrants the child will get left behind while the parents are sent back to their home country. Illegal immigrants can target the nuclear family values of the middle class, and embody those values to make more Americans sympathize with their struggles. Another method immigrants can target ethos is through using another form of rhetorical virtue called patriotism. Patriotism is a strong value held by many Americans, it is an attachment to a homeland and can have different ethnic, cultural, or political aspects. Illegal immigrants can use the patriotism of the middle class by claiming Trump’s potential future actions as unconstitutional. A mass deportation of illegal immigrants would require a round up of millions of immigrants in new detention centers where their numbers could be …show more content…
Many of the arguments Trump has made are claims that too many criminal illegal immigrants are released into American communities under the current immigration policy. He has made statements like, “Since 2013 alone, the Obama Administration has allowed 300,000 criminal aliens to return back into U.S. communities.” and “From the year 2008 through 2014, nearly 13,000 criminal aliens were released back into U.S. communities because their home countries would not take them back.” (Trump, 2016) These statements can be extremely effective against American citizens because it targets their emotions, and makes them feel unsafe with the presence of illegal immigrants in their country. To counter these arguments, and others similar to them, illegal immigrants need to make the American people feel that they bring more positives than negatives to the country. Also when illegal immigrants are attacked for being criminals they should avoid apologizing for others mistakes, because it will make them seem guilty and will make the other arguments they have made seem less