TOW #22: Searching for Immigration Reform

                For his article titled “Searching for Immigration Reform” published in The Virginian Pilot, Ray Tranchant should be given a medal. In one rather curt piece, this sharp-eyed reporter was able to communicate more real facts and solutions to the immigration problem than any presidential candidate has been able to in the past few months. Many Americans did not understand the immigration problem in its entirety, being led by their favorite candidate to see it in their way and ignore the complexity of the problem. The candidates themselves clearly are no better, since as Tranchant puts it, “it’s either all or nothing”. By calling politicians out on their perpetual use of an either/or logical fallacy, Tranchant is able to make  the very logical argument that America lawmakers, and the American people, should stop searching for extreme black and white answers and try to look for a middle road. His argument refreshingly analyses and accounts for both sides of the immigration controversy; seeing the benefits in having open borders as well as a necessity for more strictly closed borders. After looking at both sides, Tranchant provides specific examples to support his analysis of the situation. He says, “Both Clinton and Sanders want amnesty for whomever lands in the United States. Their push is to bring broken families back together, but they both fail to mention how they got separated in the first place. Does the father or mother get deported because of a felony, or does the U.S. government just randomly deport immigrants without considering family circumstances? Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz want the complete deportation of 12 million to 30 million people. That’s a little much, isn’t it?” , to point out the flaws in both sides. Not only is Tranchant right about the foolishness of the aforementioned candidates, but he can prove exactly why they are wrong. By being straightforward and honest, looking at both sides without discernable bias, and using very blunt, to-the-point language, Tranchant is able to very effectively argue a logical argument.