Immigrants in California

Arguments are often made in order to understand the world around us. Within these arguments we have information that may be wrong or right, conclusive or inconclusive. Fallacies are arguments where the structure or content of the material reveals a flaw or error. X combine It can be mistaken as a misinterpretation or misconception from incorrect reasoning in an argument. In Yeh Ling-Ling’s excerpt “State Needs a ‘Time-Out’ from Mass Immigration” he states how California is being oppressed from all of the immigrants in areas such as education, and economics. The arguments within his writing about immigrants and their role in our society are highly exaggerated thus causing fallacies to arise.

Ling-Ling first elaborates on the subject of education. He states “California’s educational system was one of the finest in this country” (CDR 94). When one analyzes this statement and looks at the educational system in California, one must wonder how Ling-Ling could make such a bold statement. The state of California has significantly declined in education due to budget cuts. Some statistics say that in 2000 over $49 billion was cut from education in the states budget. This argument of California having impeccable education has a major flaw in reasoning because it was found that about 25 percent of the 5.6 million school children in California could not even speak English properly enough to receive the education that the state provides. The standards have thus far significantly lowered. Due to the high immigrant population in California, the standards for education have lowered as well. This can be known as hasty generalization, which basically implies that individuals are being judged based upon their race, religion, etc. Another fallacy can be straw man, which misrepresents and distorts the position of another group, which the author states as the problem of overcrowding in our school system.

Secondly, Ling-Ling speaks of the economy in California. “Hundreds of thousands of working in California, professional and low-skilled, are unemployed and underemployed” (CDR 95). Ling-Ling asks, “Is raising property tax or passing additional billion- dollar bonds the real solution to our problems?” (CDR 95). When one looks at this question, the immediate fallacy of begging the question that assumes the situation must be proven. Although immigrants pay taxes and therefore contribute to the economy, a third of immigrants are not educated enough to have high paying jobs, which ultimately hurts our economy from prosperity. This type of fallacy can be known as a false dilemma in some aspects. This is because although immigrants do not have high paying jobs do not mean that they are not capable of earning money, contributing to the economy, or taking care of their families. A director at UCLA Institute for Labor and Employment stated, “We’re beginning to resemble much more a Third World society where a class of people are stuck at the bottom” (CDR 95). This quote can be two fallacies, such as false or weak analogy or an over exaggeration of the truth. When it comes down to it this is a weak analogy because in no way does California resemble a Third World country. People still earn money and can fend for them in our society. Our economic state is not at its peak but it is nowhere near what other countries are exposed to.

In conclusion, immigrants in California are not harmful but do have their downsides as to why California has become somewhat oppressed. The author makes some outrageous claims that can be interpreted as fallacies within his argument as to why immigrant migration should be controlled into the United States and into California. He states tit it is deteriorating the quality of life for the natives as well as the immigrants. Ling-Ling’s over exaggeration about immigration involves fallacies such as false and weak, straw man, begging the question, and hasty generalization. In a way fallacies are needed in an argument in order to find the truth behind why this argument is true or false and for what reasons.