Division on the Divide: Shaping Political Rhetoric and Its Responses on the Border

Today the issues that plague our borderlands and the immigration system as a whole are inescapable. We are constantly bombarded by rhetoric from opinion leaders on both sides of the issue from dozens of different forms of social media. Some people choose to act based on the way that this rhetoric portrays themselves, or their homes, or the way that the people subject to the policies in question are treated. This chain of events that starts with an idea, that then gets delivered, and then prompts a response from the community is the main subject of my inquiry. How does most of the Rhetoric prevalent today spread? How has it spread historically? What effects can negative political rhetoric have? To answer these questions the Thesis is broken into six sections. I start with background information on how Latinos and Mexican Americans have been treated over time, progressing into what rhetoric historically has had the power to do. From there, I move into modern rhetoric, where it comes from and what it can do. By establishing some truths on the matter, I hope to be able to clarify some of the potential consequences of the path that we are headed down.