Dear Future President:

There should be more immigration reform. Immigrants have been around since the birth of the United States. The U.S.  needs their labor and there should be more assistance for immigrants to get their legal documents. It is undeniable that immigrants are a part of the economy and make up a large amount of the nation’s population. According to DHS’ Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS), about 11.4 million unauthorized immigrants resided in the United States as of January 2012. Immigrants apply for and work for jobs that no one wants so they benefit the nation by being part of our nation’s GDP. “George Borjas, the nation's leading immigration economist estimates that the presence of immigrant workers, legal and illegal, in the labor market makes the U.S. economy (GDP) an estimated 11 percent larger or $1.6 trillion each year.” (“The Fiscal and Economic Impact of Immigration on the United States”)   Due to their illegal status, undocumented immigrants have to conform with living on a minimum wage salary, and they aren’t capable of getting government support in regards to that. Immigrants are responsible for starting and maintaining small businesses which circulates money too. Regardless of how they come into the U.S., immigrants come to the U.S. for a better life and they shouldn’t be punished for wanting to live the American Dream.

I propose that there needs to be background checks for immigrants which will determine if they are capable of being well-behaved, productive citizens in the US. There should also be a law passed that automatically gives legal documentation papers to anyone who has lived here for 15 or more years and/or has kids. This would prevent many families from being separated, which is a major issue itself when talking about immigration. The goal of the U.S. is to be a leading world power, so changing immigration policy could be a step in the right direction.

Sincerely,

Caesar Ramirez