Question

unit 1: rhetorical situation - reading quiz
my parents came here from colombia during a time of great instability there. escaping a dire economic situation at home, they moved to new jersey, where they had friends and family, seeking a better life, and then moved to boston after i was born.
throughout my childhood i watched my parents try to become legal but to no avail. they lost their money to people they believed to be attorneys, but who ultimately never helped. that meant my childhood was haunted by the fear that they would be deported. if i didnt see anyone when i walked in the door after school, i panicked.
and then one day, my fears were realized. i came home from school to an empty house. lights were on and dinner had been started, but my family wasnt there. neighbors broke the news that my parents had been taken away by immigration officers, and just like that, my stable family life was over.
not a single person at any level of government took any note of me. no one checked to see if i had a place to live or food to eat, and at 14, i found myself basically on my own.
while awaiting deportation proceedings, my parents remained in detention near boston, so i could visit them. they would have liked to fight deportation, but without a lawyer, and with an immigration system that rarely gives judges the discretion to allow families to stay together, they never had a chance. finally, they agreed for me to continue my education at boston arts academy, a performing arts high school, and the parents of friends graciously took me in.
i was lucky to have good friends, but i had a rocky existence. i was always insecure about being a nuisance and losing my invitation to stay. i worked a variety of jobs in retail at coffee shops all through high school. and, though i was surrounded by people who cared about me, part of me ached with every accomplishment, because my parents werent there to share my joy.
my family and i worked hard to keep our relationships strong, but too - short phone calls and the annual summer visits i made to colombia didnt suffice. they missed many important events in my life, including my singing recitals - they watched my senior recital on a tape i sent them instead of from the audience. and they missed my prom, my college application process and my graduations from high school and college.
3
mark for review
in order to strengthen her argument, the author references which of the following contemporary circumstances?
(a) legislation that has recently been passed by congress
(b) the backlog of cases for immigration hearings
(c) an unfulfilled pledge by a political leader
(d) widespread abuses in the criminal justice system

Explanation:

The author's parents faced deportation proceedings. The text mentions that the immigration system rarely gives judges the discretion to allow families to stay together. This implies a backlog or inefficiency in the system (as it's not allowing for proper case - by - case consideration, which is often a result of a large number of cases, i.e., a backlog). There is no mention of recently passed legislation (A), an unfulfilled political pledge (C), or criminal justice system abuses (D) in the given passage.

Answer:

B. The backlog of cases for immigration hearings