Rhetorical Situation:

This report by Angela S. García and David G. Keyes paints a picture of everyday life for the undocumented in locations with strict immigration laws. The report presents one of the first studies of immigrants’ responses to local restrictions and enforcement. Exclusionary policies and ramped-up federal enforcement that inhibit immigrant incorporation into their communities are demonstrated in this report. Immigrants are interviewed and they react to legal threats and hostile reception by going underground: They hold negative perceptions of local law enforcement, associate routine activities such as driving and walking with anxiety and the risk of deportation, and develop strategies of avoidance and fitting in to mitigate the discovery of their unauthorized status.  

Rhetorical Situation:

In "Undocumented Americans," three undocumented youth who arrived as young children: Jong-Min, Pedro and Silvia share their stories of how they are fighting hard to achieve their piece of the American dream? Their experiences are emblematic of the struggles of millions of undocumented children and youth in America who deal daily with isolation from peers, the struggle to pursue an education, fears of detention and deportation, and the trauma of separation from family and loved ones. This video calls for valuing the contributions of and caring for all members of our society, even those without documentation.

Rhetorical Situation:

This is one of the few case studies of undocumented immigrants. It is an insightful anthropological analysis that humanizes a group of people too often reduced to statistics and stereotypes. The hardships of Hispanic migration are conveyed in the immigrants' own voices while the author's voice raises questions about power, stereotypes, settlement, and incorporation into American society. 

Rhetorical Situation:

This poem by li-Young is about a father explaining to his son about the importance of learning a second language when you are a displaced person. The author explains why it is called a “Survival Strategy and the Melancholy of Racial Assimilation. According to the author, it is also called Psychological Paradigms of Displaced Persons. The point being emphasized in this poem is the importance of adjusting to suit the conditions in that country. The author goes on to elaborate the importance of practicing until you feel the language inside you.

Rhetorical Situation:

This a portrait of a man who has been forced to change who he is so that he can adapt living in America as an immigrant. He fears committing even the slightest mistake because he can be killed for that. The man also talks about how he is forced to wear an orange striped jumpsuit to cover my bones as they believe me dangerous as opposed to wearing a deer loin cloth to cover his manhood.