Dear President,

America is a melting pot, with people coming from all over the world for the promise of a better life. The sooner that we realize that our nation is built on immigration, the better we can be accepting of the hardworking immigrants that seek sanctuary in our country, and understand the enormous boost our economy could gain from fixing the already broken immigration system.

My Mom was born in Mexico. She moved to the States as a legal immigrant when she was only ten years old, and grew-up in Yuma, Arizona, where she worked in the fields with her father and helped around in her grandparent’s convenient store. My Mom graduated from High School and went on to College, graduating from there and got a degree in Nursing. Marrying my Dad, she had me and my two sisters, and raised us in a healthy growing environment, both of my parents providing affection and every necessity we have ever needed.

She worked very hard for the things in her life and I can’t help, but find inspiration in all the incredible things she was able to accomplish. And yet, many people will still look at my Mom like the Dirty Mexican they take us for.

Dear President, please understand that this is a common mistake of the Average Blatant American.

Study after study has shown that immigration reform will birth innovation and strengthen the economy from an economic boost of 0.4 to 0.9 percent in just ten years. Immigration is not a zero-sum gain. Barack Obama, in a speech about our nation’s immigration study, stated that: “Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country.”

Our journey is far from complete. Unions still believe that immigrants take jobs away from Americans, and oppose even legal immigration, thinking that allowing immigrants into our country will hurt us economically. Which, is the very opposite, Dear President. Immigrant-owned small businesses mean more jobs for American workers. According to the Fiscal Policy institute, an estimated 4.7 million people were employed in 2007, and the businesses produced more than $776 billion in revenue annually.

“It is crucial to remember,” Barack Obama importantly mentions, “We are a nation of immigrants, and that means that we’re constantly being replenished with strivers who believe in the American Dream. And it gives us a tremendous advantage over other nations. It makes us entrepreneurial. It continues the promise that here in America, you can make it if you try, regardless of where you come from, regardless of the circumstances of your birth.”, The former President concludes. Many Immigrants have proven that statement true, time and time again. The melting pot is becoming hotter, Dear President. So, I ask of you, what are you going to do to clear up the misconception?

Sincerely,

Alex S.

WORKS CITED

(sources)

Rubin, Jennifer. “Two Views of Immigration.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2015/04/27/two-views-of-immigration/?utm_term=.7623b22048ec

CAP Immigration Team. “The Facts on Immigration Today.”

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/reports/2014/10/23/59040/the-facts-on-immigration-today-3/

“Immigration and the Economy.”

https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/economy