Sonia Nazario

In the article “How to secure the border. Spoiler alert: A wall won't do it,” Sonia Nazario makes a case for violence-prevention programs that will help stem the flow of immigrants. Nazario begins by refuting each of the ways that the government has tried to deal with the problem of illegal immigrants. She then says that the best way to solve this dilemma is to deal with the root of the problem, which is not the people themselves, but what is forcing them out of their homes and into ours. The dangers of their home country are forcing them into the perilous journey of trying to cross the border. Next, Nazario used a city in Honduras as an example. By providing outreach programs, protecting the city’s citizens, and thoroughly investigating crime,

Nazario's strong ethos is apparent at the beginning of the article, when she discussed all the methods to stem immigration that have been tried. Right at the opening of the article, Nazario is able to strike down three opposing views. Border enforcement? Costs billions and doesn't work. Guest worker programs? That only let more immigrants in. Legalizing immigrants? When it was tried, it caused the number of illegal immigrants to almost quadruple. One by one, Nazario swiftly and skillfully refuted arguments that the opposition might have. This shows that not only did she consider her opponents views, making her seem like a credible person, she was also able to counter them, making her seem witty and smart. Another instance where Nazario had strong ethos is when she discussed how she had followed the route that an immigrant boy took to get to the U.S. Nazario faced, firsthand, the horrors that are faces by immigrants daily. This shows that Nazario is not weighing in on the subject with no knowledge or experience of it, but has firsthand experience of what it is like to be an immigrant. In other words, Nazario's words carry weight and authority on the matter. Nazario might have had a few instances of strong ethos, but also had a few weak ones that undermined her character. For example, Nazario uses plenty of facts and statistics to support her claims, yet she uses zero sources or references. There could be a few reasons why Nazario did not include sources, but none spell a strong ethos. First, perhaps Nazario could not find the correct facts that were needed to back her argument, so she simply resorted to using false or partially true facts instead. Clearly, no one would trust or listen to someone that makes things up. Second, she might just not have cared to include her sources. This makes her seem careless, incompetent, and someone that does not care enough about the