Dear Mr. or Madam President:

I'm writing to you about a serious problem in America and in my life personally. My father is an illegal immigrant. He has three children of his own and two more who belong to my mother. He breaks his back twelve hours a day trying to support a family full of dreams. Dreams of someday being able to go through College and become a hardworking citizen in this rapidly evolving society. But those are just dreams. He gets paid below minimum wage simply because of his legal status. He's built several buildings around our community and has been to the emergency room several times putting his job before his own life. I personally know of several other families in the same situation. A McDonald's employee gets paid more for making a burger than my father does for building a house. All I ask is for an easier way for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship.

People constantly make statements about illegal immigrants, but the facts are often far more involved and complex than people understand. According to The Hill “in 2014, about 69 percent of Mexican immigrants (ages 16 and over) were in the civilian labor force. Mexican immigrants were much more likely to be employed in service occupations involving natural resources, construction, maintenance, production, transportation, and material-moving occupations than the overall foreign- and native-born populations.” When an illegal immigrant crosses the border there's an American citizen waiting to hire them and benefit in some manner from their labor. Approximately 8,083,005 of the 11,714,500 of the illegal immigrants were in the work force.​

Many people, including a presidential candidate, believe the Mexican government is sending the worst of their society across the U.S. border, thereby ridding themselves of the worst elements in their country. In reality, Mexican citizens are facing a variety of national problems like crime , drugs, corruption, and a troubled economy. Mexicans overwhelmingly are dissatisfied with the direction of their country. With drug-related violence affecting much of Mexico, large majorities describe crime and illegal drugs as very big problems, and Mexicans overwhelmingly endorse President Felipe Calderón’s tough stance against drug traffickers. Therefore causing many Mexicans to immigrate to America to start a new and safer life, free of corruption and drug violence.

Illegal immigrants have only benefitted America by helping the economy. According to the Pew Research Hispanic Trends Project, there were 8.4 million unauthorized immigrants employed in the U.S. representing 5.2 percent of the U.S. labor force. Their importance was highlighted in a report by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs that stated, “Without the undocumented population, Texas’ workforce would decrease by 6.3 percent” and Texas’ gross state product would decrease by 2.1 percent. Furthermore, certain segments of the U.S. economy, like agriculture, are entirely dependent upon illegal immigrants. For example, "the U.S. Department of Agriculture states that, “about half of the hired workers employed in U.S. crop agriculture were unauthorized, with the overwhelming majority of these workers coming from Mexico.” The USDA has also warned that, “any potential immigration reform could have significant impacts on the U.S. fruit and vegetable industry.” From the perspective of National Milk Producers Federation in 2009, retail milk prices would increase by 61 percent if its immigrant labor force were to be eliminated." Agriculture in the U.S. is entirely dependent on illegal immigrants.

Despite these many benefits, people remain reluctant to welcome hispanic immigrants. The Huffington Post stated "Some people claim that illegal immigrants represent an assault on our sovereignty. If this is true, then it might be the first time in world history that a country has employed its invaders.” When illegal immigrants cross the border, there’s a citizen waiting to hire them and benefit in some manner from their labor. The sooner our country realizes that immigration reform should be based upon the views of economists, then Congress will finally be able to help solve this national dilemma. The individuals opposed to immigration from Mexico are too shortsighted to understand all of the consequences of closing our southern border.

Illegal immigrants benefit the economy in our country, therefore it is essential that the government comes up with an easier way for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship in the U.S. Mexican immigration has only benefited the United States in my personal opinion. So my question to you Mr. or Madame President, is what are you willing to do to help people with a dream, after all we are a nation of immigrants.

Sincerely,

Jonathan F

Student, Yreka High School