Recently I read a very heated reaction piece in Teen Ink about illegal immigration. I am pretty unbiased on the topic, but always try to keep an open mind. I say this because you never know the circumstances that lead people to make the drastic decision to immigrate illegally.

Nowadays much of the debate focuses on illegal aliens of Mexican descent, and it is understandable why they try to get into this country illegally. Most Americans say they are wrong to do this and break the law. But if I had to choose between breaking the law and giving my family a chance to succeed, my family would come first.

Citizens in this country think the United States is for them alone. People seem to forget that this country was built by immigrants. They should experience the immigration process; they may think it’s easy, that anyone can go through it, but it’s not. For this reason, I can understand why some try to bypass the system to get into this country.

On the other hand, illegal immigration is costing taxpayers a lot of money. Because immigrants are not registered as citizens or residents of the United States (that’s what you call a legal immigrant - like me - who is not yet a citizen), the country doesn’t recognize them in the census, so cities don’t get adequate funding for their actual population.

Having gone through the immigration process myself, I have to say that although the course is slow, trying to bypass it is just plain wrong. Plus, those who do it illegally run the risk of the authorities finding out and deporting them.

The issue of illegal immigration is going to be an ongoing debate. I don’t like to take sides because it is not a black-and-white issue. Yes, it is wrong, but when your family is starving because there aren’t any jobs in your country, what would you do?