Dear Future President,

Immigration. One of the political issues that our nation is very divided over and very much conflicted. I believe in immigration and that we should be accepting and welcoming to others wanting to come into our country. The truth of the matter is that there are many immigrants in the United States. However, the controversy over being an immigrant makes it hard for those individuals. People do not immigrate to America to be punished or to be faced with extreme hardships. Otherwise why would they even come here in the first place. It doesn’t make sense. People seek refuge in our country. They view our country, of the red, white, and blue as a safe haven and a place for a better life. They want to live a life where they can feel safe and belong to a country and call it home.

The topic of immigration really hits home for me. I was not born in the United States. When I was a baby, I was adopted from Guatemala. Although I was not born here, I have the privilege to call this country my home. Others are not so fortunate because the minute they come to America they are faced with adversity. It is not easy for them and it’s nearly impossible for them to have a stable life. Just because someone is not born here that does not mean we should see them any differently. I understand that my situation isn’t nearly the same, but it does lead me feel a connection to this topic and push for change. Now, I realize that we cannot not let everyone in, but for those individuals that are here and are what we call immigrants should be treated the same as anyone else not born here. For those who are completely opposed to immigration and immigrants, they should know that they were once immigrants as well. Our ancestors came to America and therefore, we ALL were immigrants at one point, whether some people like to admit that or not.

Some people might say, “Why should we have programs aimed towards those that we don’t even want here?” How could one judge others coming to the United States, when long, long, long ago our ancestors were doing the same thing. I don’t think a lot of people understand that when people who are immigrants come to the United States in addition to facing racism and prejudices, they have no money, no job, no home and/or maybe they can’t even speak the same language or understand it. It’s not fair because at the end of the day everyone just wants to feel safe in his or her home. As Americans we should welcome people into our country with open arms. We should feel a sense of pride because people want to come to our country. Being a citizen of the United States, I am proud to say that this is my country because other countries in the world do not have the freedoms that we do here.

My solution to fixing the quality of life for immigrants is to start by setting up programs. One way we could do this is by building houses for anyone who comes to our country with nothing besides the clothes on their body. In order to build houses, there has to be workers, and the workers employed could be individuals who are waiting for a work visa or can’t get a job. Not everyone has money to spare or share but I know for a fact that there are individuals that do. There are so many things that we could do to help immigrants. A solution is not building a wall. We should be making the effort to try and help immigrants, not keep them out. I believe in creating change for immigrants and immigration. I feel strongly about promoting immigration in our country and hope that this will be a topic you consider reviewing in your presidency.

Sincerely,

Lilly