Dear President Obama, 

Hello, Mr. President, my name is Juan Ochoa and I am a senior currently enrolled at San Marcos High School, California. As you may know one of the hot topics in America today is immigration and the deportation of these individuals, more so this year due to certain political figures trying to garner more votes in the upcoming election. But, as you may already know deportation is ruining the lives of countless families, while simultaneously having a negative impact on the economy.

It is estimated that during your presidency, 2.5 million immigrants have been removed from the country. Though a good percentage of those deported are made up of immigrants who have commited serious crimes, there is also plenty of law abiding immigrants whose families are now torn apart because of small infractions. These families now have find ways to provide, and the children involved can fall into depression. Depending on the situation these children will go to foster homes, lose focus on school, and now face the possibility of becoming homeless. 

With the cost of deporting an individual being roughly $12,500, and since 1986, the year Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the government has spent more than $187 billion on immigration enforcement. This excessive amount of spending on this issue could be used for other issues like clean energy. Surely allowing more immigrants to become citizens at a more cost effective price, would be cheaper than deporting immigrants.  But, then again these are descions that only Congress and you ,Mr. President, can find a solution to.

Sincerely,

       Juan Ochoa