Ortiz 1

Adrian Ortiz
Mr. Rogers
Government 4
26 October 2016

Border Issues
The foundation on which this country lies on is due to the efforts of immigrants,
immigrants that fled their homelands in search of a prosperous life for themselves and their
families. Who are we to deny them that? Without immigrants, we would not have had Steve Jobs,
the son of a Syrian refugee, and the creator of the most valued company in the world, Apple.
Another profound figure is the creator of Tesla Motors and Space X in Elon Musk. If we had
denied these great minds and innovators of access into our country, our lives would be
dramatically different. Immigrants in search for a better life in the United States have the same
right as everyone else to become a citizen. Therefore, my bill shall provide an easier path to
citizenship to the undocumented. It shall lower the amount of money going towards deportations
and provide more money into assisting immigrants into America.
According to U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, as of December 2nd, 2015 it has
not been possible to predict how long the immigration process with take. A green card can take
from six months to several years to complete (USCIS). As fees pile up, our government charges
nearly $1,500 dollars per person, not including the prices of other factors of life including flight,
housing, or food. A family of four cannot afford to pay these tremendous costs! People fleeing
from war-torn and lower developed countries do not have the resources or income for this
grueling process. A total of 679,996 immigrants were apprehended for illegally crossing the U.S.
border (dhs.gov). These families are risking everything just for a chance towards the american

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dream. A total of 408,870 undocumented immigrants were apprehended along the border in the
fiscal year of 2016 (CBP). Families go to extreme lengths to give their family a chance to be
successful, even if that means illegally coming to the United States. Most immigrant families are
not financially capable to pay for these citizenship fees, so they are put in situations to benefit
their family. For some families their luck runs out, they are either one of the 50,000 families that
is allowed to come into the U.S. or the government finds out that they are living in the United
States illegally and the family is then deported.
Donald Trump is on record stating that he would like to deport 11.2 million
undocumented immigrants back to their countries, but do you know how much deporting that
many immigrants will cost? It will cost the federal government roughly $400-$600 billion to
deport 11.2 immigrants back to their homelands (American Action Forum). The U.S. is currently
trillion dollars in debt, so how would Donald Trump obtain the money to do that? Instead of
deporting immigrant families who are posing no harm to our society, when it is said that the
Presidents actions are mainly revolved around deporting those who only pose a threat to national
security and public safety (whitehouse.gov), the government should use the money to make
schools around the globe more technologically advanced. On top of wanting to deport 11.3
million undocumented immigrants, Trump wants to build a wall along the Mexican border that
would ultimately cost about $8-$12 billion (Politifact) and have Mexico pay for this wall.
It is acknowledged that the United States does admit about 50,000 people into the US
every year. The process takes about a year and hundreds of thousands of people apply for it. The
application is free but if you get accepted for an interview you have to pay $350.00 per applicant.
This process can be done online at travel.state.gov (Travel.state.gov). So for those who dont
have internet access, family from overseas can apply for you. This process is provides better luck

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and a higher chance. The government could help this process by admitting more than 50,000
immigrants a year. The government could also fund the Border Security, Economic Opportunity
and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 (BSEOIM), which will benefit undocumented
immigrants greatly. Section 2103 of the BSEOIM gives legal status to immigrants who have
proven that they have gone to school and succeeded (Congress.gov), so it is not as if the
government is granting citizenship to just anyone, it is rewarding the immigrants who have
worked hard at trying to make their situation more beneficial.
Some people say that illegal immigration threatens U.S. security, I do not agree with this
because since the past decade (1999-2009), this presidential determination has allowed for up to
70,000 91,000 refugees to enter the U.S. Not one refugee has ever committed a terrorist attack
according to Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), news briefing (Becerra.house.gov). In fact, US
citizens and legal residents have committed 80 percent of terrorist attacks since 9/11. The real
question is what is everyone so afraid of? Another argument commonly stated is that if we
continue to allow mass legal immigration, it will exhaust U.S. natural resources. A solution to
this is that we could set a limit to how many immigrants can come yearly (Miller 40).
In conclusion, I believe that immigrants are a large asset to the United States and they
deserve equal opportunities as everyone else. Without immigrants in the U.S. we would not have
some major technological advancements we have today. Immigrants are the backbone of the
United States and we do not have the right to deny them of the right to become a U.S. citizen. To
summarize my argument, I believe that undocumented immigrants deserve a simpler path to
citizenship. By giving citizenship to immigrants, the United States can lower deportation costs
and provide more financial assistance towards helping immigrants become citizens. Now that

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you have the knowledge and understanding of what the Si Se Puede Act of 2017 will do,
please vote yes to pass my bill.

Works Cited
@aaf. "The Budgetary and Economic Costs of Addressing Unauthorized Immigration:
Alternative Strategies - AAF." AAF. N.p., 6 Mar. 2015. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
"Apply in Person." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
"Congressman Xavier Becerra : Press Releases : CHAIRMAN BECERRA CALLS ON HOUSE
REPUBLICANS TO JOIN DEMOCRATS, FIX OUR BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM."

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Congressman Xavier Becerra : Press Releases : CHAIRMAN BECERRA CALLS ON HOUSE

REPUBLICANS TO JOIN DEMOCRATS, FIX OUR BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM.
N.p., 17 Nov. 2016. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.
"Green Card Through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program." USCIS. N.p., 14 Feb. 2014. Web.
24 Oct. 2016.
"Immigration." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Miller, Debra A. Immigration. Detroit: Greenhaven/Gale Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
"Text - S.744 - 113th Congress (2013-2014): Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and
Immigration Modernization Act." Congress.gov. N.p., 27 June 2013. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
"2014 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics." Yearbook 2014. Department of Homeland Security, 3
Oct. 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
Valverde, Miriam. "How Trump Plans to Build a Wall, and Make Mexico Pay for It." PolitiFact.
N.p., 26 July 2016. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

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