Dear Future President,

In the United States of America, there is an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants. 4.5 million children born in the U.S. have at least one undocumented parent. That sets up the huge problem; what to do with these children if one or both their parents are deported. The United States should not be breaking up families due to the parents wanting to achieve the american dream. As our next president, you should take in consideration immigration reforms to help these families avoid separation.

Ronald Soza and his children are an example of families being separated. His children came home from school to find their father missing. It had started off like any other day. As usual, Ronald Soza dropped off his kids Cesia and Ronald Jr. at school. Ronald Soza returned home to find U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents waiting for him at his doorstep. Soza, an undocumented immigrant from Nicaragua, was taken to a detention center. When the teens, both legal residents, came home to an empty house at the end of the day, they realized something was very wrong (Cindy Y. Rodriguez 2). These two teenagers represent America’s young legal residents who are at risk for long term emotional trauma because of the system that doesn’t deal with the situation humanly. The cruel reality of this is that so many families live in constant fear of deportation and separation of their families. This is why as our next president, you should help create reforms to help these situations be avoided.

What can be done to solve this problem? Currently, there is a U.S. policy in place for legal citizens of undocumented parents to help them gain their legal status. Once a legal child of undocumented parents turns 21 and unmarried, can petition for their parents visa. In order to balance the overall number of immigrants arriving based on family relationships, Congress established a complicated system for calculating the available number of family preference visas for any given year. The number of visas given out is determined by starting with 480,000 and then subtracting the number of immediate relative visas issued during the previous year and the number of aliens “paroled” into the U.S. during the previous year (American Immigration Council). As president, it is necessary to convince congress that immigrants are just as human as anyone else. They deserve more chances to stay to help their children if they are no doing no wrong in this country. These immigrants have families they are providing for and have to do it in constant fear. The President of the United States should make the people feel welcomed, and protect them if they are only wanting to achieve the American dream.

Sincerely,

Fellow American

 "Illegal Immigration Illogic." YaleGlobal Online 22 July 2014. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2016.

Smith, Robert Courtney. "Opinion: We Need to End Our 'Natural Experiment' With Undocumented Children." Nationaljournal.com 4 Feb. 2013. U.S. History In Context. Web. 6 Oct. 2016.

Paul, William G. "America's Harsh and Unjust Immigration Laws." USA Today July 2000: 14. U.S. History In Context. Web. 3 Oct. 2016.