814 South Jefferson St

Stillwater, OK 74074
(918) 7980-0622
Gabriel.Guerra@okstate.edu
March 16, 2018

President Donald J. Trump

March 16, 2018

President Trump:

Hello, Mr. President I would like to make you see why we need a clear path to naturalization,
especially for DACA recipients. Ending the DACA policy will be harmful and unjust. Kids that
come to America at a young age are as every bit as American as you and me, and they should
have the protection of our laws and a place in our society free of fear. Without this protection,
these kids will not be able to receive the same education or opportunities that the rest of
Americans can. Since the Obama Administration enacted the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals over 800,000, have received work permits and avoided deportation and Jens Krogstad
from Pew Research Center estimated the total number eligible at 1.1 million. You have said this
subject is very tough and challenging and promised to deal with DACA with your heart. I would
like you to work on a path to citizenship for these kids.

These kids have been brought to this country as children sometimes even as infants. I would like
to believe that we are not a nation that kicks hopeful young strivers out of America; we treat
them the way we want our kids to be treated or how our past generations were treated. Your own
mother was a naturalized citizen, and your grandfather was also, Therefore, by definition in the
United States Census Bureau; you, Mr. President, DACA recipients, and me, are second-
generation immigrants. You are an example to us; you have achieved great things as a second-
generation immigrant, becoming a successful real estate entrepreneur. Like you, these people are
Americans in every single way but one, as official American citizens, you and countless others
as examples of what positive influences immigration has on our economy.

Ike Brannon from the economically conservative think tank Cato Institute states, “… DACA
recipients tend to be younger, better educated, and more highly paid than the typical
immigrant. This suggests that, as a group, they contribute more to the broader economy than
the average immigrant worker.” So far, DACA has allowed the recipients to make more
contributions to the economy than they would have without the protection. Not only are they
beneficial to our economy, but removal will also be detrimental and the research supports it.
Ryan Edwards and Francesc Ortega found is their research in Center for American Progres that
“A policy of mass deportation would immediately reduce the nation’s GDP by 1.4 percent, and
ultimately by 2.6 percent, and reduce cumulative GDP over ten years by $4.7 trillion.” I would
like for you to respond to me if this is new information to you, and if it is not, could you, please
explain why you would continue to try to enforce these type of policies?

My father was part of the refugee crisis from the civil war in El Salvador where fighting lasted
over 12 years due to the Regan administration policy to send military aid to the brutal military
government. Mr. Trump, with all due respect, your deportation policy might create the very
problems you are trying to solve. Offloading people into fragile countries that are ill equipped to
handle them will bring those problems right back to the United States. Deportations will increase
the problems in Latin America, just as in the 1980s and 1990s, a feedback loop that only
increases violence and instability in the region of the world, making more people seek refuge.
The Obama administration deported the most people than any other and placed the highest
priority on gang members making these countries even more dangerous. You and I seem to agree
that Obama's immigration policies were not the best, let us not make the same mistakes as the
previous administration. I think you have a great chance to fix the issue; United We Dream
recently found in a survey that, DACA recipients are often their families’ primary breadwinners
and 69 percent said that through DACA they increased their incomes and enabling to climb out
of poverty. If we can have that type of effect through a deferred action imagine what the
outcomes might be with an easy way to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants we have
in our country. Your party controls all three branches of government. Now is that best time we
can pass this type of legislation to end this cycle.

Therefore, Mr. President, Speaker Paul Ryan said: “These are kids who know no other country,
who were brought here by their parents and did not know any other home.” The system already
excludes criminals; DACA recipients are not eligible for welfare or Obamacare; in fact since
recipients are allowed to work legally, pay taxes, create jobs, innovate, they support entitlement
programs they could never recive. You should work for bi-partisan legislation that provides a
path to citizenship for these dreamers. Thank you for your time, Mr. Trump. I would like to
invite you to reach me by phone or email me; if you are ever in Oklahoma, you should swing by
Oklahoma State University for a talk with our student body or me. Thank you again for your
time and good luck on your reelection campaign.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Ernesto Guerra

Brannon, Ike, and Logan Albright. “The Economic and Fiscal Impact of Repealing DACA.”Cato
Institute, Cato Institute, 18 Jan. 2017, www.cato.org/blog/economic-fiscal-impact-repealing-
daca.

Krogstad, Jens Manuel, et al. “5 Facts about Illegal Immigration in the U.S.” Pew Research
Center, 27 Apr. 2017, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/27/5-facts-about-
illegal-immigration-in-the-u-s/.

US Census Bureau. “Foreign Born.” About This Topic, 6 July 2016,

Wong, Tom K, et al. “DACA Recipients' Economic and Educational Gains Continue to
Grow.”Center for American Progress, 2 Nov. 2017,
www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2017/08/28/437956/daca-recipients-
economic-educational-gains-continue-grow/.

Zenén Jaimes Pérez, A Portrait of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Recipients, United
We Dream, October 2015. http://unitedwedream.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DACA-
report-final-1.pdf