Dear future President,

We are all human, we have struggles, make errors, want the best for our families and ourselves. Each and everyone of us was born the same way therefore no one is more or less than their partner. I ask myself the same thing I’ve been trying to understand for the past ten years, why do we treat and categorize other humans as if they were not human? Humans are not aliens whether they are in North America or Europe. They are apart of this world just as much as you and I are. There is no reason to build walls if one day all of this will perish. We are temporary and the time we have on this earth together should be by caring and helping one another, not building walls and creating hate. Therefore, Immigration is an important issue that should be resolved because undocumented people are those who are trying to escape poverty, they contribute to our economy and family separation is affecting the youth emotionally and mentally.

Many undocumented people flee their country to escape poverty and come to the US seeking jobs. The reason they do so is because “...Poverty is a major problem in Mexico and has risen exponentially in recent years. In 2000, unemployment rates in Mexico were at 2.2,” (geographyas.info). As facts are shown we can see that there isn’t a whole lot of opportunity for Mexicans to support their families. Mexico is not like America, much of Mexico consists of rural areas therefore the is a vast majority of farmers. So how are moms or dads supposed to support their large families when unemployment is decreasing? These people are not coming to America because they want to break the law, but because they are desperate. Crossing the borders isn’t just walking for a couple miles, you don’t get a warm shelter or nutritious food. Crossing the border means being stuck in a truck for hours in a cramped space underneath someone. It means walking days without stopping or knowing if you’ll have a warm place to rest. Sometimes it even means not knowing if you’ll make it alive.

In addition, once undocumented people come here they have one goal; get a job. It would be understandable if all they did was come to the US and do wrong, but on the contrary they help our economy. Undocumented people come here seeking a job ending up with the ones the ones whether it's in the kitchen or scrubbing toilets. These are hardworking people who come here to earn money so they can support their families financially. What people don’t know is that “every low-skilled, nonagricultural, temporary worker who comes to the U.S. to fill a job that may otherwise be left open creates an average of 4.64 U.S. jobs. These low-skilled jobs are the necessary backbone to support higher-skilled positions.” (as-coa.org) We do the jobs that no one else wants to do. Undocumented people are not here to “steal jobs,” there is no such thing as stealing jobs. If you want to work you get up the couch and do whatever necessary to get a job, not sit around and wait for someone to hand it to you. These people go through terrible conditions for a job that may pay them $9.47/hour, which is hardly considered a livable wage. This is not their home of origin, but they contribute to the economy by producing and purchasing.

Moreover, deportations are separating kids from their families causing them emotional and mental instability. Separating kids from their families and having the will to do so is inhumane. What fault do children have that they have to miss out on the mother and fatherly love? No kid should be denied the opportunity to be with their family, these are innocent kids who that all they want to is be loved not feel alone and isolated. Due to separation of families “ behavioral problems can arise at school as a result of depression and anger,” (theatlantic.com) these effects are occurring to children whose parents have been deported and are left alone to people who are not going to treat them the way their parents would. Depression is not something that people can just get rid of one day to the next, this is a sickness that no one, especially a young kid should have. Kids shouldn’t have to worry whether their parents are going to be there when they come home from school, they should be worried about what they’re going to get for christmas or if their moms are going to let them eat the last piece of cake.

Furthermore, 3 out of 6 of my family members are U.S citizens, those three are of the ages of 7, 5 and 17. How would I feed my sisters, take care of them while trying to work in order to pay the bills and send money to my parents in Mexico, continue school, and maintain passing grades, if my parents got deported tomorrow or even today? This is what I continue to ask myself everyday. For this reason I care about the issue of immigration because even if i’m not undocumented it still affects me and many others in the same situation.

In conclusion, I want to emphasize the importance of the issue of immigration. I urge and plead for you to create a path to citizenship. That undocumented people can have the chance to obtain a Visa, so they don’t have to worry what will be of their families if they are deported. These human beings are just as equal as citizens of the US, and shouldn’t be denied the opportunity to obtain citizenship because they want a better life for their families and themselves. I want to thank you for your time and hope you take this into consideration.

Sincerely,

Yaneth G.