Temple Law Owls Take D.C.: From Rhetoric to Asylum Policy
Words are things. They get on the walls. They get in your wallpaper. They get in your rugs, in your upholstery, and your clothes, and finally, in to you. – Maya Angelou One should never underestimate the power of words, for he who can use words skillfully, strategically, and cunningly may shape another’s mind in his hands. Indeed, rhetoric is an effective instrument, and a power to which the Trump Administration is no stranger—particularly as it relates to shaping public perceptions on asylum policy. Over the past few years, the conversation on immigration, once grounded in human rights, have given way to more serious discussions predicated on national security and labor. Trump’s logic stems from the idea that a strong America requires a thriving labor market, which is the product of an impenetrable border. Such desires to preserve the American worker and defend him from foreign nationals have given rise to an ardent nationalist movement. To his base—voters suffering from the woes of a sluggish labor market, stoked by fears of the “dangerous foreigner”—this message …