Dear Future President of the United States:

I am a freshman in high school, from Fargo, North Dakota, and I am concerned with our country. I am aware that you are already concerned with many issues posing a threat to our country, but I would like to emphasize some specific problems. For example, I believe that the problem of illegal immigration is a threat to our national security and the safety of our country’s citizens.

All of our ancestors came from a different country. We all have different backgrounds and ethnicity; it is what makes us Americans. Some of our ancestors came to our country through Ellis Island from homelands where they fled war, poverty, famine and other problems. They all had one thing in common: to live in freedom, and have the opportunity for a better life. They were immigrants who had to gain citizenship, and they came here to start their new lives as free citizens. My mom, a first-generation immigrant from Korea, worked hard to gain citizenship. She came here from Korea when she was six years old, with nothing but her 15-year-old sister and the clothes she was wearing. It took her eight years to become an official U.S. citizen. She worked hard and became a medical doctor. She is an example of what it means to start with nothing and work extremely hard to become very successful. It is not fair to the immigrants like my mom and her family, who worked extremely hard to become citizens that other immigrants sneak into our country, are caught, and are allowed to stay.

Illegal immigration is a serious problem facing our country and must be stopped. Is being an illegal immigrant living in our country even really freedom? Not being able to work a real job or live in the open without being deported is a scary thing. What happens when they give birth to children? By the law of the Constitution, if they are born here, they are automatically citizens. What happens to the children born in our country who have parents that are not citizens? Do you ever worry about terrorists coming into our country hidden among the refugees? According to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, ISIS and its eight branches were the No. 1 terrorist threat to our country, and they are sneaking in with the innocent refugees. Approximately five dozen people have been arrested in our country claiming to be ISIS in 2015. Our country’s national security is susceptible to attacks from terrorists, and we must put a stop to it. It would be very easy for a member of the terrorist group ISIS to sneak in. This is a real and imminent danger that we need to secure our country’s borders and stop immigrants from coming into our country without gaining citizenship. According to immigrationtounitedstates.org, approximately thousands of tons of marijuana and cocaine were smuggled into our country with illegal immigrants who agreed to bring them over the border last year. There were around 47,000 overdoses last year which is a serious problem (drugabuse.gov). There is no way for me to fully understand what it is like to be forced to leave my country without anything but the clothes that I am wearing, but just letting people in without proper background checks is a huge risk. I agree with the idea that we should build a wall and increase our border patrol. We must secure our nation’s borders, stop illegal immigration, and make thorough background checks on people entering our country.

Many people would argue that letting refugees into our country is an act of love. I personally agree, but this is an excellent opportunity for terrorists to use against us and put our nation’s safety at risk. Are the lives of these refugees worth the entire country’s safety? That is a question we must ask ourselves. As the next president, I hope that you will consider these issues and take a greater look at them.

Sincerely,

Matthew