Letter of Awareness

Mr. Barack Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500


Dear President Obama:


My name is Faidat Yetunde Amolegbe, a first generation Nigerian female who attends Howard University. Both of my parents were born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria. They moved to America in 1979. Fortunately, my parents both have their Green cards and are citizens. However, I wish i could say the same thing for the rest of my family and friends in Nigeria. Lately a lot of my family members have been deported back to Nigeria and also a lot of them cannot even get here because they were denied a visa for no declared reason. 


In a recent edition of the Washington Post there is an article about the increasing deportation rate and the extreme measures that are being taken to make sure the illegal immigrants are out. I saw that even businesses that hire undocumented workers are getting audited. The deportation rate has risen 25% since 2007 and I know it will continue to increase. You say the reason all of this is “to make our national laws actually work”. I am a law abiding citizen, so I totally understand your reasoning. However, a lot of people that I know that has been deported were just here to make a better life for themselves. Nigeria does not have many opportunities for people to succeed and be wealthy. A lot of people there are miserable and they are just looking for a way out. When you send them back to Nigeria, a lot of them have nothing to go back to. 


They say America is the land of the free and home of the brave. I wish we could be all free, not just Americans. I am not saying that deportation should totally stop. I am just saying that maybe it should be more lenient, especially with people who are not making trouble, and just trying to survive. Thank you for taking time to read my letter, I really appreciate it. I hope to hear from you soon.


Sincerely,






Faidat Amolegbe