Does someone truly belong to the country only when they are born there?
Respected Mr. President,
I can't believe that I finally have the guts to write this to you, but I have to. My hand shakes as I type this into my computer, and my eyes are filled with sad tears, but I have hope too. I have hope that you will let my parents back to live with me.
My parents immigrated from El Salvador in 2003, and I was born here, a year later. Though born Salvadorans, my parents are naturally Americans. Over the years, they acquired the perfect American accent, and their fairer skin color even allowed them to blend in with white people. We had the very 'American' traditions of eating out at Wendy's every weekend and visiting Disneyland every two months. We lived in a house just near the public park, where we went every evening to take a walk. But, no, we didn't forget our heritage. My dad occasionally still wears the shirt that belonged to his father. My home still has the rug my Mom brought over from El Salvador, and I still wear the necklace she gave me just before she was shipped back to 'her' country.
It's funny how responsible, tax-paying inhabitants of this country are sent back to the country they were born in without any apparent reason. Yes, they were Americans. Just devoid of the stamp of being a citizen, my parents were Americans until they were declared illegal, and were exiled from the country they have lived in for over seventeen years. It has been two weeks since what happened, and I have been living at my friend's home all this time. And if my parents don't return, I know I will get into the foster system sooner than later, because I have no one else to go to.
My hope feels too strained right now. I am running low on expectations, and I hesitate to continue with this letter. But I have to. Please, sir, don't limit my opportunities. I still may get to go to college. I still might become the person I aspire to be, and contribute to my country's wellbeing. I still may have the means to become my best version, but that is only possible if you let my parents return.
Please allow me to live a life as a normal teenager, not an estranged one who has no one to turn to.
With hopes and aspirations,
Andrea