WASHINGTON: There does not seem to any light at the end of the tunnel for children of legal immigrants, a significantly large number of whom are Indian-Americans who came to the US as a young kid with their parents and now risk being deported back to the country where they don’t know anyone because of them being aging out when they turn 21.
There are around 250,000 of such children of legal immigrants, a significantly large number of whom are Indians. The White House on Thursday blamed the Republicans for this legislative impasse.
“I talked about the bipartisan agreement that came together from the Senate where we negotiated a process to help the so-called documented Dreamers. And sadly, Republicans, and I’ve said this many times already at this podium today, which is that they voted it down twice. They voted it down twice,’ White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference.
Last month led by Senator Alex Padilla, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, and Representative Deborah Ross, a bipartisan group of 43 lawmakers called on Biden Administration to take urgent action to protect the more than 250,000 Documented Dreamers – children of long-term visa holders – who are at risk of aging out of their dependent status and are forced to self-deport if they are ineligible for another status.
“These young people grow up in the United States, complete their education in the American school system, and graduate with degrees from American institutions,” wrote the lawmakers. “However, due to the long green-card backlog, 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 over 100 congressional offices and senior administration officials.
“It is disappointing to see the lack of action and associated proposed regulations deprioritized and delayed. It is time for action and I hope President Biden and the administration see the support from 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 comments.
