Come One, Come All!

Dear Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 

I am writing concerning your stance on immigration and I hope that you’ll take some time to consider my thoughts. My dad is an economist for Brigham Young University, and he has done extensive research on how migration affects the economy. His research has concluded that movement is good for the economy. It allows people to move to where they can be most productive. Which helps both them and the economies they work for. Many immigrants are seeking refuge from their homelands. The governments they flee from don’t give them basic human rights, the rights that were written into our constitution by founders seeking refuge from the unfair treatment of King George. Our country was started by European settlers seeking new land. The United States of America wouldn’t be what it is today, if there weren’t those initial immigrants who left their homeland in search of a better life.

                      

                             

When Christopher Columbus who “discovered” America, Sir Francis Drake, the second man to circumnavigate the earth, Ferdinand Magellan, attempted to circumnavigate the earth but died before his crew finished the journey, and so many more men in the 14th to 17th centuries the world was completely open to anyone and everyone who could afford a ship that would take them to wherever they wanted to go. They were admired for it; they were put in the history books for it. They were honored for discovering brave new worlds. During the Trump administration, a foreigner’s chance of getting into our country legally have been very low. The new ceiling of only 18,000 immigrants a year makes these chances even lower. 18,000 is less than the student body of my school. During the Carter administration the ceiling was set at 95,000.

At BYU, I have learned about enlightenment values, including toleration, human rights, and progress. The most recent act that you helped President Trump pass doesn’t fit into any of these categories. Keeping refugees out of our countries feels intolerant and prevents the downtrodden from living in a place where human rights are respected. The progress is stunted as well because during the Carter Administration, the United States accepted 5.3 times more than we will in the next fiscal year. When one thinks of the Enlightenment it makes them want to be more. To be better, yet we are doing the opposite. 

                    

                         

I have recently learned about culture at scale and globalism. Globalism is good for the world. Migration helps drive globalism, bringing new ideas and methods from all over the world to our reach. Globalism is beneficial to help the world progress. Each new person coming into our country can show us a better way to do something and help us improve as a country.

I believe that by helping others we are only helping ourselves. According to the New Yorker, “Accepting large numbers of refugees has improved the United States’ standing with foreign allies, and it has helped the military and intelligence communities find partners in conflict zones.” Letting in people from countries that are struggling gives us allies when we need them. Shutting people out hurts us as well as those we block. I believe that raising the immigration cap back to 50,000 migrants per fiscal year will improve your popularity with the American people and make our country a much better place. 

Sincerely,

Christina Bradford