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Melissa Payne

English 1050

Dr. Stephanie Maenhardt

July 14, 2018

Othering

"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you.

They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing

those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And

some, I assume, are good people." (Trump.)

The United States has always had an issue with the treatment of immigrants who are

trying to enter the country illegally. In the past and now, we are using othering when dealing

with these immigrants and without good reason. The need for human rights and reform for these

immigrants is something the U.S. needs to address. The U.S. immigration laws have not been

dealt with for over 100 years, the time is now.

I have this picture in my head of Ellis Island and I can’t help but imagine this wonderful

place full of hope and dreams for people who are coming to America to better their lives. When I

read “More Than Just a Shrine,” by Mary Gordan, she explains what some of these immigrants

went through on Ellis Island and it wasn’t a pleasant entry. Immigrants that came to Ellis Island

did not get a pass to walk right into America. Some did yes, but many of them had long

interviews and torturous medical exams. A popular medical exam that was given to these
immigrants was a hook that was used for buttoning gloves, they would flip back their eyelids and

check for diseases. If these people or any in the family failed the exam they would be denied

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access into America and would be labeled with a huge letter on them. These people were treated

as if there was something wrong with them. Is this the American thing to do with immigrants,

treat them inhumanely? Some “250,000 immigrants were rejected” and there were “reports of

3,000 suicides.” These immigrants were human beings regardless of race, language or anything

else for that matter. All they wanted was a life of freedom. Angel Island was another

immigration station and the way the immigrants were treated on this Island was far worse than

the immigrants on Ellis Island.

The Chinese left poetry on the walls at Angel Island and their words speak of the sadness

that they felt. This poem speaks volumes about the abuse they went through, “America has

power, but not justice. In prison, we were victimized as if we were guilty. Given no opportunity

to explain, it was really brutal. I bow my head in reflection but there is nothing I can do” (Lai).

This poem explains the power that America has on these immigrants. Innocent people treated

like prisoners. These people were wanting an explanation as to why they were being thrown in a

cell and locked up. The opportunity of freedom was taken away the moment they set foot on

American soil. Student, Emmalie Rawlings, week 2, wrote that, “immigrants that flowed through

Angel Island were subject to interrogations and inequality.” Why were the immigration officers

so afraid of the immigrants who were seeking a better way of life? In 1900 China was a country

in decline. In America, Angel Island opened in Jan of 1910. The Asian immigrants primarily
Chinese thought this country would give them opportunities to better their lives. Instead their

dream was interrupted due to immigration laws from our American government. It has been over

100 years since immigrants went through the immigration stations on these island, and America

seems to still be having a problem allowing immigrants in this country.

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We are arresting immigrants in McAllen, Texas and taking their children from them

because they are breaking the law by crossing the border illegally. This is because of the

zero-tolerance policy, Senator Jeff Merkley says in this video that a better word would be

“zero-humanity.” This is hard to understand that a child is being taken away from their parent

because they are trying to find a better life for their family. These children are crying for their

mom and dads and the parents are helpless. Due to the outrage from Americans, President Trump

signed papers on June 20, 2018 stating that the families will not be separated. Though they are

still being placed in confinement, the immigrants will at least be with their family members. This

reminds me that the immigrants on Angel and Ellis Island were also in confinement. Once again,

these people are completely helpless. This seems to be a difficult situation for immigrants and us

Americans. Why is this such a hard issue to confront. Are these immigrants doing this for the

children to have a better future. Are they aware that they will be locked up with their children if

they cross the border. Most of these immigrants do not even speak English. Author Amy Tan

speaks about her Chinese mother’s “broken English,” and how she was “ashamed of her

English,” while growing up living in America. Are these immigrants looked down on because

they do not know English or speak “broken English.” The sad thing is, is that they are probably
safer in American confinement than they would be in the countries in which they are running

from.

America has been dealing with immigrants entering our country for years now. The issue

is still at large today. Author Frederick Douglass explains that, “We have to do with our past

only as we can make it useful to the present and to the future. Now is the time, the important

time” (Douglass). This is true for all races. These immigrants are human beings and deserve the

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right to be treated in a justly manner. The U.S. needs to restructure the immigration laws and

make it better for these immigrants to have a more humanely experience. Obama says it best

during his speech in “A More Perfect Union, ‘In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more,

and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we

would have them do unto us.” (Obama.).

Rhetorical Analysis

On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass addresses to a group of people assembled in

Rochester, New York, “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July.” In this speech Douglass is talking

about the virtues of the founding fathers and how the Americans fought to free themselves from

the crown. Douglass finds it hard to comprehend how the white men are so proud of the

freedoms they fought for and yet seem not to include the slaves. Douglass has great technique in

persuading his audience using logos, ethos and pathos.

The logical point of this speech is how freedom in America is a great wonderful thing to

have accomplished, but only for the white man. Douglass is persuading his audience on how

contradictory this freedom is to slaves and the black man. Douglass is consistent with this
throughout the entire speech. The way ethos comes into this speech is, Douglass is a highly

regarded black man of his day, he knows what its like to be a slave and has great compassion for

the black man. Douglass focuses more on the slaves and convincing his audience how unjust it is

that slavery even exists in a nation that is founded on freedom.

Douglass appeals to the audience’s empathy through having his audience visualize the

inhumane treatment that the slaves had to endure. He explains how the black men suffer while

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the white men celebrate their freedom. The timeliness couldn’t have been better for Douglass’s

speech. Freedom is established, and slavery still exists.

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Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. “Civil War Era.” ​Teaching American History,​

teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-to-the-slave-is-the-fourth-of-july/.

Gordon, Mary. “MORE THAN JUST A SHRINE.” ​The New York Times,​ The New York

Times, 3 Nov. 1985, www.nytimes.com/1985/11/03/magazine/more-than-just-a-shrine.html.

Lai, Him Mark, Genny Lim, and Judy Yung, Island Poetry and History of Chinese

Immigrants on Angel Island, 1910-1940, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991.

“Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated from Their Families During Trump Border

Crackdown | TIME.” ​YouTube​, 18 June 2018, youtu.be/TFxkzeoHqGs.

Obama, Senator Barack. “‘A More Perfect Union.’” 18 Mar. 2008.

Rawlings, Emmalie. “Student.” 16 June 2018. 2​nd​ Week Responses.

staff, Newsday.com. “The Most Controversial Quotes from Trump's

Campaign.” ​Newsday​, Newsday, 20 Jan. 2017,

www.newsday.com/news/nation/donald-trump-speech-debates-and-campaign-quotes-1.1120653

2​.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.”