Children of Indian-American immigrants face deportation as time runs out

Washington:

There appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel for the children of legal immigrants, a significantly large number of whom are Indian-Americans who came to the US as children with their parents and are now at risk of being deported back to the country where they did not. they know no one because they are getting older when they turn 21.

There are about 250,000 such children of legal immigrants, a significantly large number of whom are Indians. The White House on Thursday blamed Republicans for this legislative impasse.

“I spoke about the bipartisan agreement that emerged in the Senate, where we negotiated a process to help so-called documented Dreamers. And unfortunately, Republicans, and I’ve said this many times on this podium today, is that they voted against it twice. They voted against it twice,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily press briefing.

Last month, led by Senator Alex Padilla, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Security, and Representative Deborah Ross, a bipartisan group of 43 lawmakers called on the Biden administration to take urgent action to protect the most 250,000 Documented Dreamers. – children of long-stay visa holders – who are at risk of aging and no longer dependent and are forced to self-deport if they are not eligible for another status.

“These young people grow up in the United States, complete their education in the American school system, and graduate from American institutions,” the lawmakers wrote. “However, due to the long backlog of green cards, families with approved immigrant petitions are often stuck waiting decades for permanent resident status,” they said in a letter to the Biden administration on June 13.

Last month, Improve The Dream, an organization representing these children of legal immigrants, met with more than 100 congressional offices and senior administration officials.

“It is disappointing to see the lack of action and associated proposed regulations deprioritized and delayed. It’s time to act and I hope President Biden and the administration see the support of this bipartisan letter and show they care about one of the most bipartisan issues in Congress and rectify the mistakes of the past,” said Dip Patel, founder of Improve The Dream.

At the same time, he expressed gratitude to the bipartisan members of Congress who led a letter calling for urgent improvements in administrative policy and who continue to advocate for a permanent solution through Congress.

“I was forced to start applying for visas to be able to stay in this country when I was 20 years old, right before I aged out, when I was a third year at the University of Minnesota – Duluth. I’m about to turn 27 in August. Soon, if my visa search times were personified, they would be older than I was when I first came to the United States,” said Jefrina, currently a graduate student pursuing my MBA at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, to PTI.

She came to the US from India in 2005 at the age of 7. “I arrived on an H-4 dependent visa. My family applied for permanent residency in 2010, when I was 12, and I involuntarily fell in love with this country. Over the past 19 years, Minnesota has without a doubt become my home,” she said.

“My young adult life has been a series of temporary solutions to avoid self-deportation. I graduated from my master’s program in December and am once again at the crossroads of leaving my family, pets, friends, and a myriad of unquantifiable people . reasons why I call Minnesota my home,” said Jefrina.

Praneetha, a cloud engineer based in Texas, who came to the US with her family when she was 8 years old as a dependent on her parents’ work visa, and after living in the US for over 15 years, has no clear path to residency permanent and have to jump from visa to visa to continue living and working in the country.

Roshan was forced to leave the US last month. He was working with an American semiconductor manufacturing company. He came to the US with his mother and brother at the age of 10 on an H4 visa – he grew up in Boston and graduated from Boston College in 2021 with a degree in Economics.

Roshan grew up in the US for almost 16 years, but aged out in 2019. He had to leave the US in June with no clear path to return, live and work in the only country he has truly called home.

Patel said that every day, without action, young adults, who were legally raised in the United States by skilled workers and small business owners, are forced to leave the country, separating them from their families and hindering their ability to contribute to the country. .

The administration has heard countless stories and examples of STEM and healthcare talent raised and educated in the U.S. (which comprises 87% of all those affected by aging, according to Improve The Dream research) now contributing to other countries due to barriers in our legislation. immigration system.

“Not only is our country losing young talent who were raised and educated here, but we are also losing many of their parents, who have years of practical experience as small business owners or in fields such as medicine, engineering and artificial intelligence. the economic argument is clear and the moral argument is clear,” he said in response to a question.

“All major administrative actions have excluded this population from receiving benefits, despite the tools for such assistance being available and used for others. Until Congress can pass the bipartisan America’s Children Act, we need urgent action from the administration to prioritize this issue, which has bipartisan support from Congress and the general public, and clear economic benefits,” Patel told the Press Trust of India.

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)