November 4, 2016

Dear Madame/Mr. President,

Whether you are for or against immigration, the undeniable truth is that without immigrants, America would not be the place we know today. We are a nation of immigrants, built by immigrants for immigrants. Which is why I cannot comprehend why we treat immigrants as criminals, and dehumanize them despite their wonderful contributions to our homeland. As the child of immigrants I’ve experienced first hand the positive impact they have on this country; and in return for their service, they come home to find a deportation letter forcing them to return to their “homeland”. And I say the word homeland sparingly because a home is a place that is supposed to be safe, comfortable and and stable. Exactly why these immigrants are here in the U.S; in search for that safety, comfort, and stability that their own country cannot offer. My parents first set foot in this country at seventeen, they sought refuge in the US and never looked back. Despite the insults, hatred, and uneasy feeling they got for being immigrants, this was still better than dying of starvation back “home”. For over 25 years my parents have paid taxes in this country, kept a spotless criminal record, and have raised my two siblings and I to be exemplary citizens just like them. So why is it that we live in fear, hiding and looking over our shoulders as if we had done something bad? It’s not fair that a seventeen year old kid should have to worry about her parents being ripped out of the only home they’ve ever known. Deportations are irrational and must stop for, immigrants are key contributors to the economy.

According to The Hill “the chief actuary of the Social Security Administration recorded that undocumented workers have contributed close to 10% ($300 billion) of the Social Security Trust Fund.” A fund that they will never be able to access if they don’t become legal citizens. And since they cannot access this money, who does that money go to? The Americans that complain that immigrants contribute nothing to society but crime and drugs. Even things like welfare and food stamps, immigrants are less likely to petition for because they fear deportation. So even though they are contributing to these programs through their taxes, they are only providing those Americans on welfare and food stamps with more money and not taking away from it like many seem to think. Those are just a few of many things immigrants pay into without receiving anything in return. So it seems to me like Americans are getting the better end of the deal here. Before we continue to deport these hard working men and women we need to take into consideration what they bring to the table. The positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to contribution to the economy.

Besides contributing to the economy through taxes, immigrants create their own jobs in a country where everyone complains about the job shortage. I cannot even count how many times I’ve seen a homeless person with sign that reads “Laid off and homeless. Please spare some change” But I can proudly say that 99% of those times you won’t see an immigrant of Latin descent behind the sign. Why? Because we would rather sell oranges on the corner of the street or sell corn out of a shopping cart before begging for money. As doing this would prove the irrational thinml,king that immigrants just leech off of this country rather than contributing to it. When in reality, like the Whitehouse.gov page published, “According to the Small Business Administration, immigrants are 30 percent more likely to start a business in the United States than non-immigrants, and 18 percent of all small business owners in the United States are immigrants.” These numbers show how hard working these people are. No matter what they find a way to persevere. The mentality that if you don’t have a job, you make one is the exact type of mentality this country needs.Our economy needs more successful small businesses which is why it is critical to keep immigrants here.

Immigrants make their most significant contribution to the economy through consumption. Like our government has pointed out in the past, although many immigrants do pay taxes and some may own businesses not all of them do. But the one thing that every single immigrant in this country does, is buy things. It may not seem like a big deal because yeah everyone does, but if you take into consideration that there are eleven million of us, you can see how big the impact would be if all eleven million of us stopped consuming. The official white house website published that “The Immigration Policy Center estimates that the purchasing power of Latino immigrants, alone will reach $1.5 trillion.” I don’t see how a country can afford to lose 1.5 trillion dollars.We simply cannot afford to lose this money, therefore we must stop deporting our immigrants. It may be easy for people to dismiss immigrants and tell them to go back to where they came from, but we all benefit from the money they bring into our economy.

As long as immigrants are benefiting our country I don’t see they their stay shouldn’t be welcome. America’s economy grows and immigrants obtain the opportunity for a better life, it’s a win win situation. We need immigrants in this country so instead of isolating, mistreating and deporting them, let’s incorporate them into society and see how great america can really be.

Regards,

Daniela