9 November 2016

Dear Future President of the United States;

Immigration, when done properly and legally is one of the best things about The United States of America, but when taken advantage of by immigrants it can be catastrophic for our beloved country. Illegal immigration in the US is a growing problem because it negatively affects millions of people every day. There are many different ways in which illegals can positively and negatively affect citizens of America. For the estimated 30 million illegal aliens in the U.S.A., there are more negative ways to hurt the country than positive. Aliens can become a burden to us by the daunting amount of crime they commit, the millions of dollars in tax money they take, and lastly, the morally wrong part of coming into a country illegally.

Crime is committed plenty enough by true US citizens; we do not need extra people who are going to do us harm! Randall Hoven gives the statistic about crime illegals commit, “The number of criminal aliens in federal prisons in fiscal year 2010 was about 55,000, and the number of State Criminal Alien Assistance Program criminal alien incarcerations in state prison systems and local jails was about 296,000 in fiscal year 2009, and the majority were from Mexico.” Since 2010, this number has grown and become more staggering. The more staggering number is the number of crimes committed, almost 3 million. These wrongdoings range from traffic violations all the way to murder and rape. Alan Gomez states a similar stat in his article, “undocumented immigrants represented 7% of federal prison sentences following convictions on charges of sexual abuse, 9% of murders, 12% of assaults and 30% of kidnappings in 2013.” However, the murder percentage can be misleading because it represents a grand total of 8 murder cases. People who are pro-illegal immigration use this statistic to show that aliens don’t kill enough to worry us, but I strongly disagree. These are 8 innocent loving family members, 8 innocent moms and dads, and 8 innocent children!

Legal immigration is a very expensive and difficult process to go through. I think it should be easier for an immigrant to gain citizenship, and this will help promote legal immigration over illegal. The Center for Immigration Studies states that, "[T]he net fiscal cost of immigration ranges from $11 billion to $22 billion per year.” This number is way too high and can be dropped by changing the immigration process. The CIS also states the fact that California has estimated a net cost of $3 billion in state funds for government services for aliens. These are the numbers in one state! It is now the largest unfunded federal mandate in America. Since this is the cost for one state, what do you think the cost would be for all of the U.S.? Not only is immigration a burden on the USA economically, but it also is morally unjust. Nathan Smith says it best because he looks at it from both angles. If the person is traveling across the border with intentions anything other than to save his or his family’s life, then it is morally wrong. Many people travel across the borders of the United States looking for trouble and/or to sell drugs for a profit. However, for those people who are trying to save their family from the poverty of their country, we need to grant them access to our country. That is why we must make our immigration system less expensive.

Illegal Immigration is like someone living in your house without paying rent. They receive all the benefits and accommodations of your home, but don’t have to pay a dime! I strongly believe that the future president of this country will make the best possible decisions when it comes to this issue. Immigration can be the United States’ best attribute as a nation, or it can be its worst. It all depends on how we regulate and control the borders. We must stop illegals from destroying our country, destroying our people, and destroying our economy. If we can stop the majority of aliens that harm our country, we will be much better off!

Sincerely,

Nicholas Padgett

Bibliography

Gomez, Alan. "How violent are undocumented immigrants?" USA Today, 16 July 2015, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/16/voices-gomez-undocumented-immigrant-crime-san-francisco-shooting/30159479/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.

Hoven, Randall. "Illegal Aliens Murder at a Much Higher Rate than US Citizens." American Thinker, 12 July 2015, www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/07/illegal_aliens_murder_at_a_much_higher_rate_than_us_citizens_do.html. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.

"Is Illegal Immigration an Economic Burden to America?" ProCon.org, 2 Apr. 2016, immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000788. Accessed 10 Nov. 2016.

Smith, Nathan. "The Ethics of Illegal Migration." Open Borders, 25 June 2014, openborders.info/blog/the-ethics-of-illegal-migration/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2016.