Border Fence Affecting the Poor - Fence Act in Usa

In 2006, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act indicating that there would be seven hundred miles of barrier constructed along the United States and Mexico border. This border fence is to help minimize illegal entry, drug smuggling, and security threats; securing the American borders. Melissa Bosque wrote the article "Holes in the Wall", published in the Texas Observer. The author talks about the border fence along the Mexico and United States border. Bosque states in her article that politicians are highly involved in the construction and the placement of the fence. In return, the landowners who are not exceptionally wealthy feel the repercussions. Bosque aims to convince her audience against the construction of the border fence with her credibility as a journalist, the evidence from interviews, and her sympathy towards the landowners of modest mean.

Bosque argues against the construction of the fence along the Unites States and Mexico border. She believes that the fence will not be constructed on land owned by landowners with a political background or are wealthy. Bosque feels that the building of the border fence is affecting the landowners that are not particularly wealthy and businesses relying on government funding. These landowners are targeted and neither Homeland Security nor Congress is giving answers as to why.

This article was intended for the audience of Texas Observer readers. This is a magazine that is published bi-weekly and publishes articles about issues that are ignored or under reported and promotes democratic participation (Texas Observer). The target audiences for this article are residents of Austin and the state of Texas, especially the individuals that are affected by the construction of the border fence. Individuals who read an article such as this are typically interested in the development of the fence and issues that surround immigration. Readers reading this article or magazine also may want to know if there is corporate or government corruption involved (Texas Observer).

Bosque has a strong ethos as a journalist that helps persuade her readers against the construction of the border fence. She is an investigative reporter with the Texas Observer and has a Master's degree in Journalism and a Master's in Public Health. She has written numerous articles on the United States immigration policy and has had some of her articles published in Time magazine. This helps provide Bosque credibility in issue surrounding immigration and her readers being more responsive to her articles. Bosque was a communications director with the Texas senate for five years, giving her credentials that her audience find beneficial when writing her articles. Readers who also know that Bosque grew up near the Mexico-United States border know that she has personal feelings on the construction of the border fence.

Bosque effectively provides logos in her argument against the border fence. She quotes two landowners who have limited income that she interviewed.