Jay P. New Jersey

Put a End to Illegal Immigration

This letter addresses the problems caused by illegal immigration.

Dear Mr. President,

“Illegal Immigrants are using our resources, taking our jobs, filling our schools, our hospitals and our prisons, and we are paying for it all” (Dan Benishek). This quote impacts me because I realize that illegal immigration is a major issue in our country. I think that something should be done to stop illegal immigration from happening. Illegal immigration needs to be addressed as it is negatively impacting us in our communities and as a nation.

People who cross the border illegally and enter the United States are breaking American law. There are rules that govern how people can come into the United States. Many people are on lengthy wait lists to receive visas and green cards. Every year, thousands of people skip that process and just sneak into this country. According to Jeffrey S. Passel of Pew Research Center, there is an estimated 11.3 million unauthorized immigrants in the United States of America. This means that millions of people are here who have broken the laws that govern how to get into this country.

I strongly believe that illegal immigrants who enter our country negatively affect the way we live as a community. Action is needed to change how the illegal immigrants get access to this country. The illegal immigrants are taking jobs, using valuable services, committing crimes, and not paying their fair share of taxes. This is a burden on the legal citizens to bear. FAIR Federation for American Immigration Reform (fairus.org) estimates that more than 8.5 million undocumented immigrants are in the workforce. These workers often work for less money than Americans would for the same job. This is how the immigrants take jobs from American workers. According to, immigrationreform.com, the undocumented immigrants contribute to 36.7% of federal sentences following criminal action. This means that Americans are paying for criminals to be in prison who should not be in this country. According to Infowars.com, a substantial number of undocumented immigrants join gangs, and gangs are responsible for 80% of violent crimes committed in the United States of America.

The illegal aliens come here for a safer and better life that maybe they didn't have in their original countries. One of the greatest problems with this is that it is unknown what they did or who they were in their country of origin. It is a dangerous risk to have these people who could be potential criminals in this country without any documentation of their history. I feel this will contribute to the number of illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

Illegal immigrants cost American taxpayers money. The illegal immigrants who don't pay taxes have an effect on the way Americans live. According to fairus.org, illegal immigration cost most taxpayers 113 billion dollars per year, while most illegal immigrants don’t pay income taxes. This is a serious issue. It means that when the illegal immigrants do not pay taxes, the citizens have to to pay more money towards taxes. The taxes that are paid by citizens and legal immigrants fund many programs. These programs must support the illegal immigrants, even though they do not contribute to them. It is a strain on our education system and health system because they are paid for through taxes.

We need to help stop illegal immigration in order to maintain valuable resources and have a safer country. Illegal Immigration is an enormous problem in the United States of America. It impacts jobs, crime rates, schools, medical services, and social services. It is a strain on taxpayers, and our health and education systems. We need to curb illegal immigration to become a safer and more secure country. We also need to start to strategize what we should do about illegal immigration whether it’s building a wall, strengthening Border Patrol or spending more time and money deporting these immigrants. We need to take action as country to reform immigration to fix this major problem for the sake of America.

By: Jay Hilla

Brielle Elementary

Eighth Grade Citizens

The students in the eighth grade who wished to post their letters are featured here. Students worked for several weeks in both Social Studies and Language Arts classes, crafting their arguments. They participated in Penpal Schools Decision 2016 as well as Media Literacy Week.

All letters from this group →