Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric and Metaphors
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This paper examines how immigration discussions and laws are considered based on the rhetoric used in talking about and planning them. Specifically, it looks at how anti-immigrant rhetoric shapes the way a majority thinks about immigration and how that same rhetoric creates anti-immigrant laws such as Arizona Senate Bill 1070. The most controversial section of the bill, part 2B, states that officers have to stop anyone they suspect of being an immigrant and then detain or arrest that person if there is reasonable suspicion that the person is here illegally. Not only is that blatantly racist, the rhetoric of the bill is euphemistic, hiding that racism by using words such as “reasonable,” implying that there is some clear reason when to stop someone and ask for papers. This paper examines in detail how the law was discussed, debated, presented and then passed to determine how anti-immigrant rhetoric shaped it. This is relevant to everyone’s life because we all have a responsibility to recognize the wrong in this bill and in immigration portrayals. This anti-immigrant rhetoric is not only present in this law, but also in news sources and mainstream media. Recognizing anti-immigrant language is important for an overall understanding of the discussion on immigration.