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Mara V Gonzlez Paw S Wah Kyucheol Lee Bryan Rios Billie Jo Swimmer Mykhaylo Bordun Instructor: C. Wade Bentley English 1010 December 6, 2013 Families Torn by a Dream

What would you do if the federal government came into your home, arrested you, and forced you to leave the country? Your children have to stay behind and they will be sent into

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foster care without any hope. Ramos, who had lived in the U.S. for 21 years, was deported to Mexico and separated from the two daughters and son she had raised as a single mother. Since crossing the border into the U.S. as a teenager with her parents, she had worked for two decades, paid taxes, gone to church, and provided for her U.S. born children, hoping to gain legal status, or at least avoid deportation. Even though she has been a hard worker to provide for her children and abide by U.S laws, she was eventually deported. Now, she lives separately from her two daughters and son, and suffers from a deep depression. Not only Ramos suffers from this separation, but her children are also going through the traumatic experience of losing their mother. The whole way we live now is different, says Brian Tapia, her son. My little sister is crying a lot. Were all really sad Its really hard, being without her.(Welch, USA TODAY) Aside from the human cost, such deportations can cost U.S taxpayers. Without their parents, children in foster homes requires state assistance, and could also require assistance in the future. To provide for the welfare of these children, it cost about $288.26 biweekly for each child (Department of Human Services). By breaking these families apart, not only are the children and deported parents suffering the consequences, but U.S taxpayers as well; who have to pay for deportations and welfare of these children. We are all like Ramos; we all want to live free from persecution, whether political, religious or societal, and we all certainly would like to be together with our families and strive for a better tomorrow for our children. This is what convinces people to immigrate to a new land, just like our Founding Fathers. At first, they struggled to adjust in the new and unknown environment. Conflicts with the natives, low food supplies and harsh living conditions made it almost impossible to survive, but through perseverance, hard work and sacrifice, they reached their goals, and as a result we came to be known as the United States of America, the land of

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opportunity. Immigrants in our time are no different than those who came hundreds of years ago, escaping religious persecution, injustice and oppression. They struggle, face many obstacles and hardships, and express incredible determination to succeed in the U.S. and in their pursuit of happiness. Some of us have forgotten that we are more alike than we think, and that in some ways, we can all relate to immigration whether on local or national scale, we can all relate in some way to immigration regarding its different views on morale, financial, political and societal issues. These aspects of immigration affect our lives in dramatic ways, which we will explain further One of the issues regarding immigration in our modern time is the separation of families. This problem needs to be addressed, because it is affecting our community in negative ways. Children across the United States are being torn from their mothers and fathers, ripping families into pieces. This anti-immigration law, the 14th Amendment, is the cause of the destruction of these families. This can have a large impact on society, because a complete family structure is vital for the development of a healthy family, which, in turn, is a part of the community. This may not be possible if a mother or a father is missing from the picture. The ones that are affected most traumatically by this are the members of these separated in and incomplete families. As it is stated in, What happens to US-Born Kids of Deported Undocumented Immigrants? nearly 45,000 parents were removed in the first 6 months of 2012, according to Immigration and

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Customs Enforcement (FOX NEWS LATINO).

To support our opinion to not deport these parents and to make it possible for our proposed bill to be voted into law, we have acquired information regarding the financial impact that immigrants have in the U.S. One article that can relate this comes from the Center for American progress, The Economic Impact of mass deportation. This article gives very specific financial data if a theoretical mass deportation were to suddenly occur in New Mexico. Clearly there would be a large negative impact on the economy of a state and ultimately the country if there would be a sudden mass deportation. Many people don't realize or understand these dynamics, given that it is such a controversial and complicated matter. In this next example, New Mexico would have a $90 million tax revenue increase. Such funds could be used to fund sixteen thousand Pell Grants, the salaries of over 2000 k-12 teachers in the state, give 85 days of free lunch to all k-12 kids in state, cover the fees for over 1 million advanced placement exams and many more important, and beneficial aspects of a community (Bean, Friends of Justice).

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We believe the deportation of all these parents should be stopped, because our economy is dependent on immigrant labor. As it is apparent from the information provided in the illustrations above. Most immigrant families work multiple backbreaking jobs that a lot of us would not consider doing. If anything, by deporting these people, we are taking away a lot of our manual labor workforce that is essential to our daily function as a society. Working in stifling restaurant kitchens, cooking your favorite meals, raising houses from the ground up in a variety of weather conditions, and working in the fields, tending to crops for 12 hours a day--these are just some of the essential jobs in our community and across the country that immigrants do. These people and their actions are often overlooked and many don't realize how hard many immigrants work in this country to progress in our society. Almost everyone would say those are grueling and demanding jobs, and would not consider applying, but immigrants trying to support their families would go to great lengths to put food on the table, a roof over their heads and send their kids to football practice. Immigrants are not just workers, but consumers and taxpayers as well. Contrary to the belief a lot of people have that illegal immigrants don't pay taxes, the reality is just the opposite--they have to pay taxes just like the rest of us. The IRS is constantly making sure that everyone pays income taxes regardless of legal status. Since undocumented immigrants don't have a social security number, they are issued an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). They are able to pay their taxes, but are not entitled to a tax refund (IRS).We believe

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this immigration issue to be very sad and ironic for a country that prides itself on being a country

founded by immigrants. We realize that the separation of these families is due to the fact that they are illegal immigrants. We want to relate that the majority of these people don't have much of a choice but to immigrate even if it means they would have to break the law. These people come from poor areas like Central and South America, Europe, Asia and other countries where opportunities to progress are so rare, you might as well be digging for gold. Many face financial hardship and are not able to pay for the proper paperwork needed to legally cross the border. Others simply can't afford to wait any longer, because their lives are in jeopardy, due to escalating crime with gangs and drug cartels, which, over the years, has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. Such is the case with Anabel Hernandez who has experienced this violence first hand. This became reality to her when she was celebrating her little nieces birthday when they found themselves caught in the crossfire between two rival cartels. Several of her family members were impacted by the gunshots that terrorized the little restaurant on that warm summer

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evening (Vulliamy, the guardian). This is just one account out of thousands of why people illegally immigrate for a better life for their families. Another reason why people immigrate is due to political issues, like out teammate Mike, as he relates his experience, he states, The reason why my mom and I came from the Ukraine, was because my dad abandoned us shortly after I was born. Being 1992, the Ukrainian government had just signed their independence from Russia, who decided it was the right time to pull all of their support, infrastructure and security from the new country. Jobs were lost, savings disappeared and wages were waiting on the new currency. My moms salary was approximately $13 a month; high, compared to the rest of the country, but with her and my grandma, we were months behind on utilities and could barely put food on the table. When she found a way to come to the US, she took it without a second thought, and brought me along. We may never find a solution to the whole immigration issue, but we can at least find a solution to the separation of families. Our objective is to keep the kids and their parents together. We attempt to contribute to a part of the solution, because we realize that this is an issue that may never be resolved if youre talking about people coming over illegally. What we are focusing on are the kids. We are aware that there have been many attempts by congress to solve the illegal immigration issue, without any real solutions. We want to shine a light of hope to stop the shedding of tears by thousands of children. We want them to be happy with their moms and dads. Since his 2008 campaign, Obama has failed to accomplish the immigration reform that he promise to achieve. He said, I can promise that I will try to do a comprehensive immigration reform in my first year of my second term,but his promise as a president has been proven

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empty, and as of today, there is no solution to any issues related to immigration. (Walsh, newsmax) Acknowledging that this is an issue affecting thousands across the country; we are proposing a solution that may not end illegal immigration but may end the deportation of parents whose children are left behind and are put in foster homes. We think that immigrants should be given an opportunity to stay in the country and help it grow. Our plan is the Immigrant Probation towards Legalization (IPL); It is an agreement between the immigrant and the United State. To ensure the security of our nation and the rights of a child, the Congress and immigration judges will determine that an undocumented immigrant whose children are citizens of the United State should be permitted to stay in the country legally by being subject to several requirements:

The immigrant should be subject to a criminal background check and prove that he or she is not a threatened to our country or community;

The immigrant will be subject to a fine for the time living in the country illegally; The immigrant will be given a three year probation with a right to work in the country in which he or she will have to abide by the laws like any other citizen;

The immigrant will be required to maintain their job, pay taxes, and provide for the benefit of this country;

The immigrants will need to be able to learn and speak basic English; After the three year probation and having kept all the requirements, they will be able to apply for a temporary residency of another three years and eventually, citizenship.

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With this plan, we want to help immigrants by giving them a chance to show that they are good people and that they could be a positive addition to our society. We want to give them an opportunity to become legal, and earn the right to become a US citizen. We can stop the spending of millions of dollars each year due to deportation of undocumented immigrants, and the money that is going toward foster homes for the welfare of these immigrant children. We could start out small; we could run it through the state of Utah first and see if it works. It is clear that family deportation, due to undocumented parents, is one of the most controversial issues in the United States. We think that no matter how high the border between Mexico and the US is, or how many laws the government creates to eliminate the problem, there will always be people in need, searching for a better life and an opportunity to give their family a brighter future. These people will always find a way to break barriers, climb the highest borders, dig under them, and walk miles on dry, hot and barren deserts. These people, who are in a desperate situation, are willing to risk their lives and to do anything for their beloved children. Wouldnt you want your children to have the very best possible? We all agree that we do not want criminals close to us and our families, but when we say criminals, we are talking about murderers, thieves, rapists etc. Do you consider a person, who, because of his or her situation, is working illegally without proper documentation, should be considered a criminal, and, because of that, do we have the right to deport them and take their US born children away from them? We are not just dealing with foreigners; we are dealing with people who have families and aspirations in life. Their kids will one day grow up; join the workforce or the armed forces. They will start caring for this country. What we need to do now, is teach them that we will help them, and show them just how great this country is. Deporting their parents will be a shortcut to ruin our kids future and the future of America.

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Works Cited Welch, William. Deportations tear some families apart. USA TODAY, n.p. 5 Dec. 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

FOSTER CARE RATES. Department of Human Services, DHS, 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 4 Dec.

2013. What happens to US-Born Kids of Deported Undocumented Immigrants? FOX NEWS LATINO, n.p. 25 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. Bean, Alan. "The Economic Impact of Mass deportation." Friends of Justice, Friends of Justice, 1 Sep. 2002. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. Vulliamy, Ed. Mexico's war on drugs is one big lie. theguardian, n.p. 31 Aug. 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. Walsh, James. Obamas Failed Promise on Immigration Reform. newsmax.com. n.p, Monday 30 April, 2012. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

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General ITIN Information. IRS n.p. n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013

FOSTER CARE RATES. Department of Human Services, DHS, 1 Oct. 2012. Web. 4 Dec.

2013.