Dear Mr./Mrs. President,

There has been a lot of talk lately about immigration in our country, and most of what is being said is very negative and refers mostly to keeping immigrants out of our country. While I know it would be a bad move on our part to try and restrict entrance into the country, I think it would be just as much of a mistake to open up our borders to everyone. This would be a messy and unorganized system, which could leave us susceptible to terrorist attacks or to easy infiltration from undocumented immigrants and unwanted guests. Based on the Chinese Exclusion Act from 1882, we know that restricting any specific group of people from our country is wrong and we would not benefit from it. By restricting entry for Muslim people we would actively be cutting all ties that our country has to Middle Eastern countries, and to a huge population of the world, that would be approximately 23 percent of the world’s population. This would negatively affect our relationships with other countries, especially some that we already have a very tense or tender connection with already. In the same vein, restricting the number of Mexicans and Muslims entering the country would negatively affect our economy, because these are the people taking lower level jobs in our country that the citizens don’t want to take. So by cutting out a large portion of the workers we would be putting our country in crisis mode.

Something we don’t remember is that back in 19th century Irish citizens were considered to be on the same tier as African-Americans, but now are considered to be white. This means that all thoughts we have about different groups like Muslims and Mexicans, will be considered differently not too long from now.

There is no perfect method to improve the issues that we are having with immigration, but in my opinion the best way to help ourselves is by helping solve issues in other countries first. I think we need to be taking in more refugees from Syria, and aiding other countries who are in need of support. In terms of solving issues closer to home, I think that we need to slightly increase border control, if the issue of undocumented immigrants coming in from Mexico is such a problem. The fact of the matter is that we need the people who come into this country to help support our economy. We could also have a more regular census, where we check to see how many people are coming into the country illegally. Since the 1920’s Mexicans have been coming to the United States to look for better work that what they have to offer in their own country, and I see that it would be highly hypocritical to remove people from our country because of that.

Immigrants are a big part of our country and its history, so I wouldn’t see how restricting would help us in any way. Immigrants are a big part of our economy, our culture, and our way of life. Many important inventions were created by immigrants who came to the United States, and we would want that cycle to continue uninterrupted by ignorance and fear. I think the most important thing we can do for immigration in our country is work on tolerance of other cultures and acceptance that not everyone is out to get you or ruin your way of life. The United States is full of narcissists, and opening people’s minds is the most important step in making new things happen.

Sincerely,

Lyle Seitz,

Student of Science Leadership Academy