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4S RANCH For the last six years, Sooraj Sasindran and his family of four have lived a life that is resolutely all-American. Sasindran a 36-year-old engineer from India bought a home in the 4S Ranch neighborhood, where he and his wife balance working remotely with parenting their two daughters.

In a pre-pandemic world, they hosted barbecues with friends on the weekends, spent days at the beach and mapped out their next trip across the United States. Its an idyllic life the Sasindrans have worked hard to build for their children a normalcy that could end if immigration reform isnt passed, he said.

Sasindran works in the United States on an H1-B guest worker visa, sponsored and employed by a local tech company. Spouses and children of these foreign workers are allowed to reside in the US on accompanying statuses, known as the H-4 visa.

Sasindrans eight-year-old daughter born in India has spent most of her life in San Diego on an H-4.

Shes completely American, Sasindran said, adding that they moved to California when she was still a baby.

The family has filed for green cards, but the wait for Indian nationals to receive them is exponential possibly crossing into five decades, according to data analysis from the CATO Institute. Employment-based green cards are capped at 7% for each country, leading to long lines for those born in India or China.

President Joseph R. Bidens proposed U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 could offer relief if passed. It would remove country caps the cause of green card backlogs and protect children from aging out of their status when they turn 21, as per current immigration law.

As long as immigration petition is filed before the age of 21, the dependents age is locked in, said Tifany Markee of the bills proposed reform. Markee, a partner at Milner & Markee in Rancho Bernado, added that children could also be eligible for work permits and social security numbers if the bill passed.

They can work at after-school jobs, do summer internships at college because theyre no longer just H-4 [visa holders] who only have the ability to go to school, Markee said. So I think its a huge improvement.

Sasindran is still cautious about optimism, however. Unclear if the backlog would ever resolve, he decided to apply for Canadian permanent residency a few years ago. The family was on the verge of moving north until the pandemic hit.

She wants to be an actor when she grows up, Sasindran said of his daughters early ambitions. But I can never encourage it because I know if shes still on H4, she cant do it.

Applications from 2010 are now being processed in Sasindrans specific green card category, according to the State Departments February visa bulletin. Because his application has gone forward, Sasindran and his daughter have officially stated an intention to immigrate. He fears this could later cause conflict in case his daughter doesnt receive her green card in time, forcing him to consider temporary options like a student visa.

Its difficult for a foreign national to have a pending intent to immigrate while also applying for non-immigrant status, Markee explained.

In those situations, youre likely going to have to argue flexibility to consulates, she said.

The bills success at passing as comprehensive reform has been debated ever since its introduction to Congress earlier this year. Among changes for H-4 dependents, it includes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, farmworkers and increases provisions like diversity visas.

My personal opinion is that were going to see more of a piecemeal approach, said Markee. I dont believe were going to get bipartisan support for the entire bill because its incredibly all-encompassing. I think the reality is that its going to pass into smaller pieces relating to something particular.

Its a sentiment Dip Patel, 25, shares. A Canadian citizen also on a temporary work visa, Patel founded Improve The Dream, a movement advocating for documented dreamers.

For the last few years, his work has been expansive; he and other Improve The Dream community members have met with bi-partisan congressional members to ask that all foreign individuals brought to the US as children are protected by legislature, regardless of how they entered the US.

We ask that they include all children who grew up here, whether they are undocumented or documented, he said.

Patels initial hope was that documented dependents be included in Senator Dick Durbins DREAM Act, which only granted eligibility to those who had entered the US unlawfully or lost a valid status. House Democrats later voted against an amendment that would include documented dependents in the act.

Like Markee, Patel believes that more focused legislation is key to their success. Improve The Dreams efforts paid off when dependents on visa statuses such as the H-4 were included in the House Dream and Promise Act of 2021, passed in the House this week. More than 150,000 documented dreamers could receive permanent residency if the act is passed, estimates the Migration Policy Institute.

Its the first step forward, that were finally being heard, said Patel. As a whole, were excited that were included as Dreamers as well.

The House is set to vote on the bill this week, the first step in creating a path to citizenship for more than 200,000 children awaiting green cards.

Whatever happens going forward, I hope we get a solution for permanently aging out [of status], Patel said. No child who grows up here should have to face that.

The news is heartening to many in the Improve The Dream community, which consists of thousands of parents and children across Slack channels, Facebook groups and other messaging platforms. Over the last few years, theyve brainstormed ways to make their voices visible on social media and draw more congressional attention to their cause.

Ravi Gosai, 35, a resident from Cypress, California, is one of them. An active Twitter user, hes been hoping to bring light to his two sons situation especially as his older son Daksh, 14, begins to consider college.

I have to take my ACTS, my SATs, Daksh said, who was also admitted into a college preparatory program at his high school. But Im worried itll all go down the drain if I dont get a green card. I wont be able to work on my current status to help out my family. If I shift over to a student visa, I wont be eligible for many scholarships or any in-state tuition.

Without significant change, their future in America is up for debate, Gosai said.

I am hopeful that the Dream and Promise Act passes, but am still skeptical about what the final bill will look like, he said. Sometimes I think, Am I playing with their future? I started feeling guilty about it because I may have chosen a country without thinking of the outcome of it.

Daksh and his young brother, Vansh, 12, were raised entirely in Orange County. They love basketball and call themselves avid Lakers fans.

America is all that makes sense to them, their father said. Its the only language they speak.

Excerpt from:
'America is all that makes sense to them': Exploring the urgency of immigration reform - Coast News

President Joe Bide; Photo credit: White House

Pushes for action on the Hill for faster processing of green cards; H-4, L-2 EADs.

Keen to fix Americas broken immigration system, President Joe Biden is pushing for action in the Congress to ensure faster processing of green cards and work permits for the spouses of foreign workers.

I think the President would reiterate that he believes that there should be faster processing, that our immigration system is broken at many levels, press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday at a White House briefing.

He is eager for Congress to move forward with action there, she said in response to a question about a protest on Capitol Hill by a number of Indian American doctors fighting against Covid-19 pandemic demanding elimination of country quotas for green cards.

Asked about delays in issuing Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to spouses of H-1B and L-1 workers on H-4, L-2 dependent visas, Psaki said that was part of the reason for Bidens push for action on his sweeping immigration overhaul bill.

I think part of the reason we want to push for action on immigration on the Hill is to move forward with expediting the processing and doing that on several levels, including a number of the visas that you just conveyed, she said.

So thats part of the reason why we think thats such an important piece to move forward on, Psaki said in response to a question about the cause of the spouses that was supported by Vice President Kamala Harris when she was a senator.

Last month, Democrats introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill in Congress proposing removal of seven percent country caps for green cards for all nations big or small.

This has created a huge backlog for applicants from countries like India, while some small nations do not use their full quota.

According to the State Department, Indians with advanced degrees whose immigration applications were approved in 2009 and skilled workers and professionals whose applications were okayed in 2010 are still waiting for their green cards.

The immigration reform bill faces an uphill battle in the Congress with an evenly divided Senate and Republicans demanding stringent restrictions on illegal immigration.

Earlier, legislative action to remove country caps died in the last Congress because the Senate and House of Representatives failed to reconcile their differences in time.

H-1B visas are for professionals and L-1 visas are for those transferred by their companies to the US.

Their spouses, mostly Indian women, had been allowed to work in the US by President Barack Obama, but his successor Donald Trump had tried to ban work authorization for them.

In his first week in office, Biden put to an end to Trumps efforts and allowed spouses to get work permits.

READ MORE:

How will Bidens proposed immigration reform affect Green Card and H-1B visas? (March 24, 2021)

Delay in processing of H-4 and L-2 spouses EADs challenged (March 24, 2021)

Rep. Coleman asks DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas about H-4 EAD delays (March 22, 2021)

Read the rest here:
Biden wants to fix broken immigration... - The American Bazaar

EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) Several groups are calling on Joe Biden to invest more federal dollars to deal with the migrant surge on the southern border.

That money should be used to immediately hire more immigration judges and shore up border infrastructure. That includes expanding temporary holding facilities and child shelters, as well as modernizing border security through technology. That, in turn, will free border agents to deal with this or future challenges, participants in a Border Solutions Roundtable said this week.

The groups are also calling on Biden to involve the governments of Mexico and Northern Triangle countries of Central America in addressing internal crises that make so many people leave their homes and seek and end to persecution or a better way of life in the United States.

I really think solutions have to begin south of the border, said Danilo Zak, senior policy and advocacy associate at the National Immigration Forum. That [] really represents the only path toward an ideal scenario where children, families and other migrants are safe and secure in their own country (with) no need to flee or migrate irregularly in the first place.

Analysts and advocates say the U.S. should help Central American nations address the root causes of migration like insecurity and poverty and provide a reliable structure for people there to apply for asylum remotely, without putting their lives and those of their children in jeopardy by making a dangerous trip through Mexico.

We should do more to combat cartels and smugglers. Part of that is engaging in a more effective messaging campaign to dispel some of the fiction sold by these cartels to desperate migrants, Zak said. And thats not just dont come, but to inform them about asylum laws and the immigration system to dispel misinformation by the smugglers.

But while that happens, the Biden administration must make immediate changes to the way it deals with the thousands of family units and single adults that are showing up at the border, they say.

The problem with the border right now is not that so many people want to come here, but solely that people are coming illegally and when they do come Border Patrol treats them inhumanely by caging them or dumping them in destitute and dangerous cities in Mexico, said David J. Bier, senior policy analyst at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy research organization.

Bier suggests the federal government apply the same standard to would-be refugees today as it did to Cuban emigres who showed up to ports of entry prior to 2017.

The government should grant asylum immediately at the border to as many applicants as possible. It should grant the rest parole status and admit them to pursue their applications, Bier said. This would end the illegality and inhumane treatment. Perhaps more people would come but if they crossed legally this wouldnt be a problem any more than the millions of legal crossers that we (process) each week.

Bier says refugee admission policies are behind the steep rise in unaccompanied minors coming across the border.

We will accept 100 percent of them but only if they cross illegally. If they seek asylum at ports of entry, nearly all will be refused entry. This approach means that nearly all kids are being forced into the hands of smugglers, he says. If they are with their parents, in many cases theyre expelled to Mexico. So, many parents are sending their kids alone and trying to sneak in behind them, leading to repeated attempts over and over by parents to reunite with their kids.

The migrants wouldnt have to resort to smugglers if, for instance, theyre given Temporary Protected Status on account of hurricanes that struck the Northern Triangle late last year and devastated communities and farms.

And Biden should boost the H2-B visa cap for temporary workers, he said, because despite the pandemic millions of job openings exist in certain industries.

Monica Weisberg-Stewart, chair of the Texas Border Coalition, said border security issues must also be addressed or else the Mexican drug cartels will continue to exploit women and children, smuggle drugs and inflict pain on our American way of life.

She said immigration reform, better equipped and staffed ports of entry and new asylum laws are a must.

Asylum laws need to be updated. The children traveling alone needs to be addressed. We believe keeping Title 42 on the border is essential given what is happening at the border currently, she said. Title 42 is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention order allowing federal officials to immediately expel unauthorized migrants to prevent cross-border spread of COVID-19.

More immigration judges are needed to deal with the surge and Biden should engage border leaders and residents before making decisions that affect them, she said.

We are right here on the border. Our mayors are dealing with these issues every day, Weisberg-Stewart said.

She added border agents need to be allowed to do their jobs because theres a lot of mixed messages.

Visit theBorderReport.com homepagefor the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border.

Excerpt from:
Groups urge Biden to hire more immigration judges and fight drug cartels - KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com

See the ceremonies as students across Burlington proclaim "Black Lives Matter."

Every school in the district raised the Black Lives Matter flag in 2020 in response to the districtdeclaring racism as a public health emergency. The Media Factory assisted the district putting together a six minute mini-documentary video of the celebrations and reflections.

Each school in the Burlington School District had its own way of amplifying Black lives and honoring a commitment to inclusion, equity and diversity. Voices of elementary students throughhigh school share personal words about what equity means to them. There is song, dance, chanting, signs and art in the student-led events.

More: Here's how Vermont educators are advocating for a diversity of perspectivesin the classroom

Its so inspiring to see our students really leaning into the issue of equity as they raise the Black Lives Matter flag as a symbol of hope for full equity at each of Burlingtons schools, said Superintendent Tom Flanagan.

More: Champlain Elementary mural 'Kelis the Afronaut' promotes equity, anti-racism

It will not be simple to dismantle hundreds of years of systemic racism in our District, city, or country, but Burlington School District is committed to doing our part, said the district's director of equity, Sparks. This documentary acts as a record of our students commitment to diversity and equity and can be used as a tool to teach these practices further."

The district said these ceremonies were just a start. They will continue equity conversations in school and provide opportunities for expression and celebration ofdiversity.

More: Students take a stand: Vermont middle school raises Black Lives Matter flag

Burlington High School became among the first schools in the nation to fly the Black Lives Matter flagin 2018 and was the second, after Montpelier, in Vermont.

Contact April Barton at abarton@freepressmedia.com or 802-660-1854. Follow her on Twitter @aprildbarton.

Read or Share this story: https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2021/03/25/video-shows-student-led-black-lives-matter-ceremonies-burlington/6994628002/

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Watch the creative ways students in Burlington honored Black lives - Burlington Free Press

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A day after a gunman opened fire inside a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, killing 10 people, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to debate a series of proposals aimed at reducing gun violence. Though the hearing was scheduled weeks ago, it took on a new urgency in light of Mondays shooting and another that occurred less than a week ago where a gunman went on a shooting spree at massage parlors in the Atlanta area, killing eight people.

Despite the recent massacres, Senate Republicans still delivered some of the familiar, debunked rebuttals against the common sense gun proposals, like that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, or that criminals dont follow the gun laws already in place. But at Tuesdays hearing, Republican lawmakers introduced new, misleading talking points in their arguments against passing gun control legislation: That the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements that arose last year led to a spate of violent crime and shootings in cities across the country, and that people need guns more than ever to defend themselves.

In his opening statement, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that Black Lives Matter protests and the defund the police movement may have lead to an 1,268 additional deaths last year. Grassley did not cite where that number came from, but it matches one found in a recent report from the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice that found that the homicide rate rose nearly 30 percent in 2020 than the previous year and that translates to an additional 1,268 homicides across the 34-city sample. Nowhere in the report did it mention that Black Lives Matter protests were a cause for the rise in homicides.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) used the hearing as an opportunity to angrily rant against the political theater that he says Democrats engage in every time theres a mass shooting. Every time theres a mass shooting, we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders, Cruz said. Cruz also blasted Democrats who, in the past, have called out Republican lawmakers who in the past refused to support gun control measures in the wake of mass shootings, instead just offering the victims and their families warm wishes. I dont apologize for thoughts and prayers, Cruz declared. And I believe in the power of prayer and the contempt of Democrats for prayers is an odd sociological thing.

Tuesdays Senate hearing follows a pair of gun control bills that the House of Representatives recently passed that would strengthen the nations gun laws by, among other things, expanding the background checks for all gun sales and transfers. The legislation would also expand the review period for background checks from three days to 20 daysa measure that gun control advocates say would have prevented Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who murdered nine people at a Historically Black church in Charleston, SC in 2015, from purchasing the gun he used in the shooting.

But every Republican senator on the committee insisted, without any evidence, that the House bills would not reduce gun violence in any meaningful way. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) downplayed the gun violence problem by comparing it to drunk driving. We have a lot of drunk drivers in America that kill a lot of people. We ought to try to combat that too, he said. But the answer is not to get rid of all sober drivers. Kennedy failed to mention that alcohol-impaired driving laws, including sobriety checkpoints, have been proven to be effective in curbing drunk driving incidents. Gun control groups like Moms Demand Action have even modeled their advocacy efforts on the success of groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, whose advocacy has led to policy changes that have reduced the rate of drunk driving-related deaths.

Both Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) claimed that the rise of violent crime over the past year was a direct result of the protests over racist policing that occurred over the past year. When you condemn the policeyou shouldnt be surprised that criminals take advantage, Cotton said. And that crime rises. Cotton also blamed the rise in violent crime, which includes a massive spike in gun violence, on progressive George Soros-funded prosecutors who have won elections in recent years by campaigning on a platform of reforming the criminal justice system.

In his closing remarks, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered a swift condemnation of Cruzs ridiculous theater comment, saying that he didnt believe any part of it was ridiculous. It was dead serious.

The rest is here:
Senate Republicans argue Black Lives Matter and defund the police are to blame for gun violence - Mother Jones