American Border Control

Against Immigration: 
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform

For Immigration:
http://openborders.info/us-specific-pro-immigration-arguments/

I believe that one of the most controversial discussions about border control in recent news has been in relation to Donald Trump's proposal to build a wall along the southern border, paid by Mexico, in an attempt to fully prevent illegal immigration from the South.

The website argues that for years, "Mexico's leaders have been taking advantage of the [US] by using illegal immigration to export the crime and poverty in their own country". Focusing primarily on the cost of illegal immigrants to the American tax-payer, "in healthcare costs, housing costs, wlfare costs etc", as well as disadvantaging jobseekers, Trump promises that the costs of building the border wall is significantly less than the above costs, and therefore the right choice.

They also use shock tactics and emotive language to convey their message, focusing on the "horrific crimes" which Illegal Immigrants have committed against Americans, in particular rape and murder. In addition to this, there is a clear focus on how the influx of illegal immigrants has negatively impacted employment of Americans, especially Black and Hispanic teenagers from working class backgrounds.
In this way, the website pits America against Mexico, stating that they "will not be taken advantage of anymore".

Trump vows for the return of all criminal 'aliens' back to their home countries, detaining all 'aliens' until this return is complete, increasing punishment for expired visas, and ending 'birthright' citizenships for children of illegal immigrants in the United States. This is Trump's attempt to end any 'loopholes' in the immigration system, especially the 'catch-and-release' of illegal aliens, which currently occurring in America.

Trump's website uses argumentative, emotive language and statistics to back up his promise of using a border wall to limit entry of illegal immigrants from the south of the border. It can be argued that this is coming from a biased standpoint, as in being a political candidate, he is making these promises in the hopes of securing votes from the public, especially those affected by illegal immigration.

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The pro-immigration website I am looking at lists the arguments for immigration into America, and in this way starkly contrasts Trump's website. The site categorises the arguments; pragmatic, philosophical, traditional, etc. according to the nature of the arguments.

The pragmatic benefits look at the economical side of things, stating that 'immigration economically benefits Americans', rather than the general 'false' belief that it reduces wages of American citizens. One possible issue with the website would be that it generalises quite alot, stating that "immigrants are law-abiding and upright citizens" who "come to work, not to claim welfare benefits", and despite being a positive outlook, this is arguably idealistic and perhaps naive to assume. Similarly, however, Trump's campaign in relation to immigration also generalises immigrants, marking them as murderers and thieves. This highlights how both sites use positive/negative generalisations to win over the reader.

The philosophical arguments look at the rights of those who want to become American citizens, highlighting the 'freedom of movement' as a fundamental human liberty. This contrasts to Trump's ideology, with the idea of a solid wall to prevent movement into America as a physical barrier to restrict this right.

One of the things I found particularly interesting about this article was the 'American exceptionalism argument' in which it states that "The United States of America is one of the few countries where an immigrant can become American." This stands in stark contrast to Trump's beliefs, his website suggesting that immigrants only serve to rob, rape and murder American citizens, rather than having the potential to become as successful as an American-born citizen.