Dear Mr/Mrs President,

Based on the idea of ¨The American Dream¨ people have been coming to this nation in search of a better life since since the ¨birth¨/founding of America.  America, land and home of the free, is a country based on immigration. The four ¨founding fathers¨ were immigrants, so why do their descendants give immigration a negative connotation? They turn around and separate immigrants from the majority, though prejudice, racial profiling, and bogus accusations. They even go as far as keeping foreigners from becoming legal immigrants. The immigration process has become progressively challenging, with the difficult, time consuming application processes and eligibility constraints. I believe that the immigration process should decrease in difficulty and increase in fairness and legitimacy.

Recently America has been indulged in an anti-immigrant scare. With foreign disasters like 9/11, and “the great drug war” with Latinos, America has hardened the immigration laws. I understand America’s leaders are weary, they don't want to make the same mistakes. It's okay to be cautious and take precautions, but don't be racist. America was created to become a “safe haven” of sorts, don't take away that option for people. Right now the immigration application of Naturalization process is 10 steps. Within those 10 steps you have to: determine if you are eligible (which most aren’t), fill out a 20 page form, pay a $680 nonrefundable fee. The overall process is very lengthy, time consuming and can been expensive according to Breana Noble, a publisher for Newsmax.com. Especially for someone being paid a minimum wage of 75.97 Mexican Peso, which is only 4.08 USD.

While working hard to pay all this money and complete the process, the applicant can be denied or told at any time you are ineligible. I don't know about you, but none of this seems fair, because even if you pass all this you still have to take a test about America. If we continue to use this process illegal immigrants will continue to increase. That means deportations will increase and the economy will decrease. We don't need any insensitive and prejudice leaders spreading xenophobia. The problem is illegal immigration; the solution is, make the naturalization process better, unprejudiced, and easier.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, “To become a naturalized U.S. citizen, you must pass the naturalization test. At your naturalization interview, you will be required to answer questions about your application and background. You will also take an English and civics test unless you qualify for an exemption or waiver.” All of these things have to complete in the English language. For the English test you must be able to write, read, speak, and understand the English language. In the Civics Test you are tested on the knowledge of ​U.S.​history and government. All of this is problematic especially for someone who doesn't speak english or never even been to America, let alone studied the history. Its unrealistic, and we need to remove the test as a requirement. ​

In conclusion, immigration has a huge impact on our society, nation, and economy. We believe that immigrants should have equal fairness in becoming citizen in the U.S.A. People been coming to this nation since the beginning. To have a good life. To start anew. Aren't we the land of opportunity? According to the Oxford Pocket English Dictionary, “The American Dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” Because of the idea of ¨The American Dream¨ people have been coming to this nation in search of a better life since since the ¨birth¨/founding of America. We should give those opportunities to everyone.

Sincerely ,

Alexanda Morton and Sha’Kevia Grays

Citations

"TITLE 8 OF CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (8 CFR) | USCIS." TITLE 8 OF CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (8 CFR) | USCIS. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Noble, Breana. "What Is Minimum Wage In Mexico?" Newsmax. 15 July 2015. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

Noble | , By Breana. "What Is Minimum Wage In Mexico?" Newsmax. N.p., 15 July 2015. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

"TITLE 8 OF CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (8 CFR) | USCIS." TITLE 8 OF CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (8 CFR) | USCIS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.