Dear President of United States,

I’m an immigrant from China to the United States. I live in the New York. I’m a 12th-grade student. There are student immigrants who came from Central America. They have difficulty traveling to cross the U.S. border to enter the United States. They come to the U.S. because they want to get a better life here and they want to feel safe because they are poor or escaping gangs. Deportation of child immigrants is a big problem that you should address because these students do not feel safe in their home countries and they would have a better life staying here.

There are a lot of immigrant students that come from Central America. They do not feel safe in their countries because their life in Central America was poor and dangerous, so they come to North America for a better life. According to Alfonso Chardy of The Miami Herald, “Granados traveled without her parents or any other relative. But she was not alone. She and other migrants paid a guide to help them make the long and difficult journey. These guides are nicknamed 'coyotes.' They help people who want to enter the U.S. secretly. Granados and her group first traveled by bus from El Salvador to Guatemala. Then they continued to northern Mexico. They traveled more than 2,000 miles just to reach the U.S. border.” This evidence shows how difficult it is for immigrants to come to America without their parents and how difficult it is to cross the border to enter the United States. It also shows how their life is in Central America. 

Another article shows that school is the only place where immigrant students in the U.S. can feel safe. According to the article called "Schools a haven for kids who crossed the border alone," “America's schools are one of the few official places where the children coming across the border from Mexico are certain to get a helping hand.” Also in the article it says, “Teacher Edison James works with students at Liberty High School on Tuesday in Houston. The school, which serves a large immigrant population, including 'unaccompanied minors,' offers information about legal and other services available and works to connect students with community groups if they need help.” This evidence shows the school is the only place where the immigrant students can feel safe and get help. But they also feel no further in here, because it is the courts that can decide if they can stay here or leave the country. 

The final reason I think this issue is important is that students are being deported because they don’t have green cards or documentation. According to an article titled "Young immigrants put themselves at risk in protest at U.S. border," “Leon came to the U.S. when he was 5. He had been living in North Carolina and returned to Mexico in 2011 because he thought the immigration system would never be fixed. He regrets that now. He’s tried, and failed, to return to the U.S. six times.” Also, “If she is deported, Mateo said she won't try to cross the border again. She said she couldn't go through that again.” This evidence shows how immigrants feel each time they being deported and how hard it is for them to enter the U.S. again and again.

In conclusion, I want to say there are a lot of immigrant students that come to the United States without their family and they may not meet their family again because they don’t have the green card or documents. Students are being deported because they don’t have green cards or documentation. The possible solution to the issue is to give these students green cards so they can stay in America. Because if they don’t get the green card, they will return to their own country and experience again poverty or gangs. Dear president, you should solve this problem as soon as possible because I'm an immigrant and I know how difficult it is to adapt to a new life.

Sincerely,

JinMei Lin

References

Heflin, K. (n.d.). Schools a haven for kids who crossed the border alone. Retrieved July 30, 2014, from https://newsela.com/articles/immigrantoverload-schools/id/4612/

Herald, M. (n.d.). More children and teens crossing into U.S. unaccompanied. Retrieved April 07, 2014, from https://newsela.com/articles/migrant-minors/id/3305/

Carcamo, C. (n.d.). Young immigrants stage a risky border protest. Retrieved July 25, 2013, from https://newsela.com/articles/immigrant-border/id/675/