Dear future president,

Our prosperous nation is built off of the values of diversity. The United States of America is a place where people can start a new life. A myriad of illegal immigrants roam the streets without proper documentation. Due to the lack of border security, our country is vulnerable. In the next 4 years, illegal immigrants should become citizens or be deported, and our borders should be more secure.

America’s bustling cities are filled with foreigners that came here illegally. 56 percent of illegal immigrants in the United States came from Mexico. Since there is no definite border between the two countries, people just step over the border, and aren’t accounted for since they are not coming in on a plane. As our new president, our borders should be secure. Something as simple as a small barricade won’t completely fix the entire problem. To deal with this issue, we have to start with our borders and who first enters the country.

11.3 million illegal immigrants call America home today. Many of them have the intentions of not achieving legal status. Our path to citizenship is a long process, but for years, tons of immigrants have been able to go through the process. Illegal immigrants currently in the country today must go through this process. If not, deportation is the only option. To illustrate a point, American citizens have to sacrifice for immigrants to come into the country. According to Immigration Counters, “American taxpayers spend over $84 billion annually to subsidize illegal immigrants.” This staggering number affects almost every U.S. citizens but illegal immigrants are still pouring into the country and are not handled properly. Over half a million immigrants are charged with drug offenses in 2016 alone. Our safety and money should not be compromised for illegal immigration.

People in our country have different views on this issue. Many believe that immigrants coming to our nation should be granted citizenship very easily and should not be sent back to their home country. If the path to legalization was shorter, new citizens might have a criminal record and could possibly pose as a security threat. As one single country, we cannot help everyone coming to the country, but we should make sure immigrants in need can come to the nation.

In conclusion, the topic of illegal immigration is very controversial in our country. Political parties in our nation are divided over this issue in an effort to help immigrants entering the country. The United States should be a place where immigrants to come to the U.S. and achieve legal status. As our new president, our current immigration problems must be fixed by strengthening our border security and making sure immigrants gain legal status.   

Sincerely,

Margaret