Give our children same way that DACA children are given, group tells Congress and administration.
Hundreds of Indian Americans staged a rally in front of the White House in support of President Donald Trump’s immigration policy on Saturday.
The rally organized by the Republican Hindu Coalition (RHC), a Hindu-American community organization, called for merit-based migration, ending visa lottery system and chain migration.
About 200 RHC leaders and delegates from across the United States attended the rally along with several highly-skilled workers who hold the H-1B visa.
“President Trump has talked about High Skilled Backlogs,” the RHC said in a statement. “In the entire immigration debate so far, this is the first time the issue of clearing the Green Card Backlog for high skilled professionals have been taken up. All this is because of efforts of Republican Hindu Coalition.”
Many of the participants were software engineers who have been waiting for green cards for years. An important issue raised by them is the risk faced by their children while they have to wait, sometimes for decades, to get permanent residence.
“When I came here, my daughter was 6 years old. Many kids have already aged out. We feel stuck,” Nandu Konduri, 45, a software engineer in North Carolina told The Washington Post.
The participants held placards with pro-Trump messages while chanting “Indians love Trump” and “Clear green card backlog.”
The RHC also demands immediate permanent residence status for their children and fix the Dreamers issue without citizenship.
“We’re simply saying: ‘Please, deal with us in the same way that you are helping them. Our children also did not choose to come here. We are also trying to give them a better life here,” Krishna Mullakuri, 31, a software engineer in Virginia, told The Washington Post.
According to the group, “besides 700,000 DACA kids, there are 200,000 DALCA kids, children of legal immigrants-in-line from India, who have never broken the law, but who simply age out at 21 and have to go back, because their parents have a 60 year wait to get their green card after it is approved.”
“The Hindu and Indian community has some anxiety related to immigration issues. This event will help to alleviate their anxieties and give them back the confidence” said Anil Sharma who is the member of the organizing team.
Souptik Mukherjee, another member, said: “For high skilled professional with advanced degrees the green card wait seems to be endless. Any initiative to move towards a merit-based immigration system is highly laudable.”
Trump recently revealed his plans for ensuring merit-based immigration and ending chain migration. If the policy comes into effect, it will benefit thousands of highly skilled workers from India.
Usually, Indians have to wait for decades to get their green cards approved for permanent residency. This is mainly due to the existing per-country limit.
1 Comment
“The RHC also demands immediate permanent residence status for their children and fix the Dreamers issue without citizenship.”
What entitled nerve!