In “Is Ending DACA the Worst Decision Trump Has Made?”, William Finnegan uses historical background, statistics, surveys, and effective usage of pathos to synthesize the compelling dissertation that Donald Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) within his immigration crackdown is a detrimental mistake and will cause immediate suffering among immigrant children. These influential sources contribute to Finnegan’s argument as historical background, statistics, and surveys provide sufficient objective information to support his views and pathos to connect the topic to the audience’s personal life. Although some critics may believe ending DACA is a positive decision for immigration regulation, the arguments …show more content…
By giving a historical background on the program, it gives the audience a chance to familiarize themselves with the original purpose of the program and how it has benefited immigrants. The purpose of DACA is to protect undocumented immigrant youth who came to the United States, as a minor, from deportation (University of California Berkeley). Finnegan expands on its purpose and function by giving the background that over 700,000 undocumented immigrant children benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was created by former president, Barack Obama. Additionally, the author expressed that this program gave young undocumented immigrant children a chance to live, study, and work, giving them an equal chance to start a better life. In other words, these undocumented immigrants, also known as Dreamers, rely on this program to safely live a life in America and taking away DACA will take away that safety, leaving them vulnerable to arrest and losing their opportunity to live a life in America. This historical background provides a baseline for readers to understand the controversy of DACA and to establish credence with his …show more content…
He emotionally connects the audience to this topic by asking them, “But the question of the treatment of Dreamers is, in the end, an ethical one. What kind of people are we? How do we treat the strangers at our door? The Dreamers aren’t even strangers. We’ve known them almost all their lives” (Finnegan). This strategy is an appeal to emotions forcing the audience to face an emotionally-charged question that will spur some type of response. By doing this, Finnegan develops his argument, adding tremendous power to the idea that the elimination of DACA is an unacceptable decision which is suitable and