Brittany Ayala

English 1010
Prof. Kelly Turnbeaugh
Exploratory Essay
Final Draft
November 25, 2014
The citizenship reform
Is there a humane and logical way? There are a lot of illegal immigrants residing here
that have wives and children who cant afford the citizenship process, nor can they wait 6 years
for it. President Barack H. Obama is trying to give those illegal immigrants who meet his criteria
a work visa so that they may live here legally and work here legally for three years. President
Obamas requirements are as followed; they must have been here for 5 years, must be parents
of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident here born on or before November 20, 2014, and
are not an enforcement priority for removal from the United States, pursuant to the November
20, 2014, policies for the apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants
Memorandum. Some say this problem needs to be resolved by deporting all illegal immigrants
no matter what their situation is, this would be a form of logical way, others say lets give them
their citizenship but lets make it really hard for them and make it be a long and expensive
process, this is a form of a humane way, and then there is people like me who believe we are all
Gods children and our fellow brothers should be given their citizenship because they are

already here and they need their sense of security just like all of the American citizens, this is a
logical and humane way. President Obama said this in his speech to the people on live
television We need to find a humane and logical way to solve this problem, and I believe this
reform is the start.
To see the politicians point of view I called the Mayor of West Valley City, Mayor Ron
Bigelow. In the 10 minutes he gave me for telling me his point of view on the problem at hand.
He told me how he is concerned about what it says to Americans and people all around the
world if we reward those who break the law and come here illegally. He also stated how a
pathway does need to be made for those who are here illegally but it needs to be just as
difficult if not more difficult than those who came here legally. However, he does believe that
every effort to keep families together, he then mentioned that their main families are back in
their home countries, ignore the fact that 85% of illegal immigrants have wives and children
who are Americans and live here in the United States and not back in their home countries.
With this said does that mean the lives of citizens who are married to, or children of illegal
immigrants are less important to those who are married to, or children of legal immigrants or
born citizens? The way he stated his point of view of the problem, this is the product of his
opinion, his solution was basically send them back to their countries with the rest of their
families and forget about the American citizens who are attached to those illegal immigrants
either by marriage or by birth. He did try and fight this fact by saying that the rights for
Americans are given to illegal immigrants to protect their families, but this is a lie, because they
say they give rights to these illegal immigrants, but honestly they dont, a lot of immigrants are
asked for proof of citizenship when walking to the grocery store to buy their familys

necessities, when they say they dont have them on them they are arrested, here in Utah there
is a law in place that makes it to where the law enforcement cannot walk up to a person on the
street and ask for their proof of citizenship, just as a law enforcement officer cannot pull over a
vehicle if they havent broken any law, now if they break the law in some way then they can ask
for their proof of citizenship but law enforcement often overlook this law to protect their
country, but how is the man walking to the grocery store going harm the country. This man is
just doing his job as a husband and father, buying the necessities for his loved ones at home. A
lot of people like this man have their rights taken from them because the law enforcement
doesnt follow the law either. The mayor also said that we need to treat everyone fairly, how is
deporting an Americans spouse or parent fair to them? The answer is clear, its not fair to
anyone. The mayor does acknowledge that there is a problem but he says this will not fix it, this
will only make it a more complicated problem. If this is so than why is our President trying to
achieve this for those illegal immigrants who follow his criteria? The President is listening to the
people and the people want this problem fixed and he has decided that this will help the
problem at hand. This shows that politicians are trying to go with a logical way to solve the
problem at hand.
Another perspective of this problem is the one of an immigrant who is here legally. To
get this perspective I talked to a mother, wife, and sister by the name of Leticia. She works a full time job
and has for kids, ne born here in the US the others born in Mexico. She has her green card, as do her
children, but she has a brother who was born in Mexico who is here illegally that she cares about a lot.
He has tried to get his visa and green card but has been denied due unknown reasons. He lived with her
for two years and she stresses over if Immigration will pick him up and deport him. She feels as though

the process needs to be simpler and more affordable. She knows of the bills that comes with living here
and she knows her brother cannot afford the prices that are required when filing for papers and she
knows he will not be able to afford it. Her process was hard and expensive but she had help paying for
her familys status here in the US. Her solution to this process is to have them pay the fees in their taxes
that way it is more affordable and the government gets their money. This is a humane way and a logical
way to solve the problem.
My last perspective is the one of the illegal immigrant. This amazing man has asked to remain
anonymous for obvious reasons. He is a father, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a son-in-law, and
brother-in-law to American citizens, he has a lot to lose if he gets deported. His family is here and his job
is here as well. He is a tax paying immigrant and is current on his taxes. He has been here for six years
and has been supporting his family for three years. He has enough bills to worry about, to list a few of
them he is paying for life insurance for his family, car insurance, health insurance, rent, power, gas,
water, car payments, etc. Trying to pay the $6000 the government charges for their papers is impossible
to do for him. He tries to save money but that is nearly impossible with taking care of a two year old and
supporting his wife who is going to school full time to give them a better life. He believes if the process
was easier he and his family wouldnt have to worry if that day will be the last that they will be together.
His way of fixing this problem is giving people their citizenship for free if they have a child born here or
are married to a legal citizen. This is humane and logical way to solve this problem.

To see another perspective on this problem I talked with the head pastor at Calvary
Chapel, Pastor Terry Long. I asked the same questions as I did with the mayor, the pastors
response was the total opposite from the mayors. The Pastor had stated that the process needs
to be simpler and less costly. The government needs to make the process quicker so those still in other
countries who still wish to come live their lives here in the United States can do so legally, because it will

be easier, cost effective, and quicker. The Pastor also commented on how people are greedy and that is
why this process is so hard, expensive, and long. His main point about this problem was that this country
was made by people from around the world, he said look around and you will see many different people
who have come from different countries, even our ancestors came from different countries. He, like me
doesnt see why it has to be so difficult to fix this problem. We are all Gods children and we need to
stop being greedy and selfish and start accepting this fact as people. The pastor knows that this is a big
problem for many people and the hardest part is knowing our fate as human beings are in the hands of
these politicians that dont care about the American citizens who are affected by this. This is a logical
and humane way to solve this problem.
In conclusion, there are many different perspectives on this problem but the one that is most
shared with the different people I talked to is the one of the pastor. These immigrants need a little
leeway because punishing them will punish the American citizens that are associated with them. It is not
fair to those who are here to help their families and doing nothing wrong. I believe the President is right
to want this reform just lie the rest of us. My personal opinion is that of the one that the illegal
immigrant gave us. These immigrants already have responsibilities here and penalizing them is
penalizing the Americans that are either their spouses or children. Its humane and logical.