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Let's say you have a 100 people in a town and 10 of them are illegal immigrants. Imagine an illegal immigrant raped and murdered someone in town yesterday.
Some town members are angry. They say this would never have happened if they didn't have those illegals in town.
Is that a rational point?
Well, only 1 out of the 10 illegals committed a crime. And if records show that there were 9 other crimes committed by regular citizens, the argument makes no sense. Getting rid of the illegals won't reduce the percentage of violent criminals--10%. It will only reduce the population.
To have any point, you have to establish that illegals commit more violent crimes than the rest of the population.
But the data shows that the more undocumented immigrants you have, the lower the violent crime rate.
If the mayor goes on TV and details how horrific that rape and murder was and brings out the victim's tearful mother, it's an appeal to emotion. It doesn't make the argument any more rational.
Can we agree that Trump's argument is irrational?
Some town members are angry. They say this would never have happened if they didn't have those illegals in town.
Is that a rational point?
Well, only 1 out of the 10 illegals committed a crime. And if records show that there were 9 other crimes committed by regular citizens, the argument makes no sense. Getting rid of the illegals won't reduce the percentage of violent criminals--10%. It will only reduce the population.
To have any point, you have to establish that illegals commit more violent crimes than the rest of the population.
But the data shows that the more undocumented immigrants you have, the lower the violent crime rate.

If the mayor goes on TV and details how horrific that rape and murder was and brings out the victim's tearful mother, it's an appeal to emotion. It doesn't make the argument any more rational.
Can we agree that Trump's argument is irrational?