Antelope High School

Home of the Titans

Principal, John Becker
Phone: (916)782-6565 ext. 1047

Jasreen Kaur
7801 Titan Drive
Antelope Ca, 95843

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capital, Suite 1173
Sacramento, Ca 95814

To Whom It May Concern:

How will you know if it is the right decision if you never make it? My name is Jasreen Kaur and I am
a 15 year old student at Antelope High School. I was Born in India and raised there for 5 years. I came
to the U.S with my family at 5 years old to get a better education, live in a better environment, and to
overall have a better life. I believe that the Syrian refugees should be allowed into our country with
caution because they are being forced to live in very dangerous environments. As the living conditions
keep getting more and more dangerous the people will become more and more desperate. It could get
to the point where they'd risk their lives just to have a chance of living or keeping their families alive.
We should take action before things get out of hand and before more lives are lost.

Syria has become a very dangerous place over the last couple of years. It has come to the point where
people do not feel safe even in their own homes. Therefore many have been trying to flee the country
with their families and move to a much safer location. Many have tried to come to the US but have
been rejected due to criminal backgrounds or other any suspicious family history. The process of
letting people into the US is very long and slow, so some people just choose take the risk and enter
illegally. Entering illegally however, is very dangerous and at times painful. The circumstances in
Syria are slowly becoming even more dangerous and more people are becoming willing to take the
risk. Reports show that about 11.5 percent of the countrys population has been killed or injured
since March 2011 (Black). This is evoking fear in people's minds and hearts making them wonder
whether they will be joining the countries dead population or not. During the war many hundred
thousand people were killed but, the remaining 70,000 [that were alive but injured] fell victim to a
lack of medicine, food, clean water, sanitation and proper housing (Black). Their living conditions
worsened majorly, which is why the US is trying its best to help without endangering themselves.
People have become very desperate for a better life.

The Refugee crisis in Syria is very different from the events that took place with the Jews during
WW2. The circumstances were similar because both Jews and Syrians were trying to escape their
country and come to the US because of dangerous conditions. The similarity may be an important
factor however, the differences are as well and cant be ignored. The Jews did not pose any threat to
the U.S (Press) and were only trying to escape danger. They did not pose as a threat, yet we still did
not accept them into the country. The Syrians are a similar story, they do pose as a huge threat to the
US, but they are just as desperate as the Jews once were. We already made one mistake by not letting
4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843
 Antelope High School
Home of the Titans
Principal, John Becker
Phone: (916)782-6565 ext. 1047

the Jews enter a safe heaven, I hope the same doesn't happen this time around. In many ways the two
scenarios are different, however in my opinion, the similarities outweigh the differences.

I disagree with the current lawmakers decision to only take Syrian refugees in after an intense and thorough
record check because it takes too much time. In all the time that's wasted while checking everyone's history and
timeline, more lives are lost and less are saved. The longer we take to let them in the bigger the chance of
another person being killed and someone turning to desperate or illegal measures. I believe that we should still
be cautious but maybe try to make the process a lot faster so that people are no longer in danger or a long
period of time. Overall, the idea of making sure people are safe before letting them into the US is good but it
takes too long and in this situation time is not our friend.

Syria is a very dangerous place and people are trying very hard to flee and go to a safer place with their
families. Some try to come to the us but only few make it in on time, or at all. Many of those who do not get
permitted to enter the country, they will turn to illegal and dangerous ways. People dont even feel safe in their
own homes. This crisis is very similar to the one with Jews during WW2 because they were trying to escape
their country because of dangerous conditions but we did not accept them into the US in fear of conflict with
opposing countries. We greatly regretted that decision but let's not regret this one and help save some lives. In
my opinion, Mr. Brown, you should vote to keep the same system of checking criminal records and such but
just try to speed up the process but a lot. Thank you for taking your time to read this letter written by a high
school student who wants to influence america in a good way.

Sincerely,

Jasreen Kaur
Antelope High School Student
Respectful. Responsible. Proud
GO TITANS!

4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843