John F. Kavanaugh's Arguement for Immigration Reform

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John F. Kavanaugh, a professor of philosophy and a Jesuit priest, wrote the article “Amnesty? Let Us Be Vigilant and Charitable” for an issue of America, a Jesuit publication. In his article he discusses the negatives of American immigration laws and argues for their reform. Kavanaugh begins his article by addressing his audience of Catholics in America’s emotions through the classical appeal of pathos. With his first sentence he tells the story of a lovable woman with a family who was deported back to an unsafe area in Mexico, “…in the last 15 years, 600 young women have been kidnapped, raped, murdered and buried in the desert” (26). He gives the readers newfound hope when he says “Luckily, she was able to find a way into the United States, again illegally, to be with her children,” but he quickly brings the audience to the sad reality that “If she is discovered again, she will spend five years in a U.S. federal prison” (26). Ending on such a harsh note leaves the audience wanting a different outcome, a better one that would allow her to raise her children in peace and in the ...

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