November 7, 2016 

Dear Future President,

There are many people currently living in the U.S today who are undocumented and do not have the same privileges as citizens of the U.S. This is why immigration reform will help hundreds of thousands of families and individuals who want equality and fair opportunity just like any other U.S citizen. This is important because they will be safe in this country. The families and individuals coming into the country will contribute to become productive citizens and receive the same benefits as citizens. Lastly, many individuals who come into the country undocumented could seek higher quality education for careers they wish to look into. I think undocumented people should have pathways opened to just as much equal opportunity as citizens and should be your responsibility for this to happen in the next presidency.

You may not know that one of the reasons why people decide to migrate to the United States is because of safety. According to online sources “roughly 63,000 unaccompanied minors, most of whom are reportedly fleeing violence and poverty in Central America, have crossed illegally into the United States”(http://huffingtonpost.com/). This shows that a great amount of minors in Central America are taking initiative to get out of their unsafe environment. If minors are seeking refugee and risking their lives in order to come up North to the United States this says a lot about their end goal to be in a safe environment. If they are willing to come to the United States unaccompanied they must be willing to also find a way to survive here in the United States by working here too.

To make a living you have to secure a living job and have a good paying job in order to buy the necessities needed for day to day living. According to the article The Truth about America’s Illegal Immigrants states “An estimated 8.1 million are either working or looking for work. Some are paid in cash, but many illegal immigrants use fake Social Security numbers to secure jobs, and are thus U.S. taxpayers.” These undocumented immigrants working with fake Social Security are still contributing as taxpayers. Therefore, they should receive the same benefits as citizens who pay taxes receive welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid. The Immigration reform will help millions of undocumented workers working with fake Social Security so they can fully receive the benefits of being a U.S citizen.

Education plays a big role in the lives of undocumented immigrants who come to the country. Many people may come here in hopes for better and more affordable education only to be disappointed to find out they cannot get student loans or even financial aid. “Undocumented students cannot legally receive any federally funded student financial aid, including loans, grants, scholarships or work-study money.” (http://professionals.collegeboard.org). This shows just how differently and unfairly undocumented students are being treated compared to legal citizens. They are being stripped from their pursuit of education to study the career they wish to go into. This is just one of the many things that will change with the immigration reform that I hope you will perform in order to help millions of undocumented people in the United States of America.

Like I stated before U.S citizens are eligible for many benefits just because of their legal statuses and because of their social security. My parents are undocumented immigrants who came into this country in the early 90’s with almost little to nothing to begin with. They came here right away started to work just to get by. They too had to use fake social security’s to get a job and sustained it for living expenses. Fast forward to today they are much more elderly and need medical aid to be able to go into a doctor's office and get the help they need. They are unable to do so because of their immigrant status, causing them to not have the same luxury as legal citizens. It is unfair to be treated like this just because of a “status” they are categorized under due to current laws that do not allow them to get the same help as a legal citizen. My parents aren't the only ones who are experiencing this problem but also millions of others who are in the same position as they are. This is not what they deserve or any human on earth who is being denied help from their own government.

In conclusion the Immigration reform will help millions of undocumented immigrants who are living in the United States as of today. Not only will it benefit them but also the U.S economy with more people being able to work all kinds of jobs legally. Future immigrants will also benefit with the will to want to work right away and being able to also contribute to the growth of this country. Undocumented immigrants will also receive the same benefits that legal citizens receive making it an equal opportunity for all sides and fair treatment for all. Together we can build and contribute to the growth of this country making it live up to its name of being the land of the free.

Sincerely,

Juan Ramirez

Foster High School

Tukwila, WA