From arriving in the US to making a life there, they go into various aspects of the immigration issue that have been targeted by Trump and his supporters. The standout themes paint a grim picture.
TRUMP’S POLICIES ARE ‘INCONISTENT’:
The harshest noise in the run-up to Trump’s January 20 inauguration has surrounded the question of immigration and it’s the Indian immigrant that has been firmly in the sights of MAGA Republicans. Through Trump and his main adviser, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, did express support for skilled migration, that came with the caveat that the system is “broken” and needs “fixing”. For Takhsh, the inconsistencies are worrisome.
“One day you’re a criminal, the other day you’re an asset to the US. And so that level of insanity creates a lot of anxiety-induced atmosphere.”
Trump has expressed support for liberal Green Card policies, suggesting Green Cards can be extended to foreign students graduating from American universities, but Sharma-Crawford is sceptical. “He (Trump) peddles false hope. If you look at the immigration bills passed by the House of Representatives, there’s nothing about giving Green Cards to high-skilled people.”
Forget a liberal visa regime, he sealed the border seven days after his inauguration. “That ban included lawful permit residents, green card holders, all of those people who were in status. He’s got this rally planned for 19th January 2025. It seems highly suspicious.
January 6 2021, has, of course, entered US history books as the day of the “insurrection”, when supporters of a defeated candidate had stormed the US federal legislature in an attempt to reverse the result of the presidential election. In fact, Sharma-Crawford offers a sobering thought after ticket to the US, the H1-B. “H1-Bs are a problem. They’re not a permanent solution for the Indian workforce. It looks like modern-day slavery as individuals come with hopes and dreams from India, when you have visa lines that are 99 years long, that’s not realistic.”
WHY STUDENTS SHOULD BE CONCERNED:
Both Takhsh and Sharma-Crawford stress on the need for taking nothing for granted. Their warning is especially directed towards overseas students. Which is why both hoped they had returned to campuses before January 20. The reference was 2017. “We learnt from Trump 1.0 to never underestimate the craziness that is going to happen. And the last time, it was seven days after he took office and it was real and it took months for courts to correct.” “Students are tied to start date of school. If you’re trapped out of the country, it takes a month and a half to get you back in. How do we get you back in? Because you’ve now violated the conditions of your status because you’re not in class.”
For lakhs of Indians, going to the US to study is the first step to living the American Dream, but both lawyers point out that it is anything but a bed of roses. “If you’re a student returning, at the airport, you have no right to privacy. You do not have a right to an attorney. The CBP(Customs and Border Protection) officer can look at your text messages, WhatsApp messages and emails and search your belongings for any documents showing past employment or immigrant intent in messages exchanged with individuals in the US.”
Working jobs they are not authorized to do is unfortunately an option to which many students have to take recourse.
“They get here. The fees are outrageous. They understand that often the families have either taken on debt or asked for loans or whatever they have done that allows them to come and kind of play out this American Dream. They can work on campus for 20 hours a week at, you know, eight bucks an hour.”
Lacking work permits, students resort to working illegally. “The Indian community often assists these students out of a sense of duty. However, this assistance potentially complicates their long-term prospects” since the application forms explicitly ask about unauthorized employment. Students face a dilemma — either falsifying information or becoming ineligible for employment-based benefits.
It doesn’t help that the immigration system is complex and severe. “Even people who are within the systems don’t know how the systems work. And so part of the problem that is most difficult with the American immigration system is you are constantly combating this machinery of misinformation. And that’s true in the H-1B context.”
FOR SOME, ASYLUM THE ONLY OPTION:
Asylum, hence, becomes the pathway for many Indians to enter the US, but it’s a route that seems to serve nobody, and this includes American employers. Indians are number three in list of the undocumented populated in America. Most arrive through the southern border. They’re not coming to have an asylum application. They’re coming for a better life. They’re misusing legal processes because there’s no real process that addresses the actual issue. But Trump can’t do that. Stephen Miller can’t do that. Mass deportation cannot do t hat because it’s a labor issue.”
The disconnect between the need for skilled employees and proper authorization that would allow them to work in the US leads to avoidable complications.
“From the employer’s side, there’s a need for employees. And they are usually looking at the skills that they bring to the table. And secondarily, they look at the individual status because their fiduciary duty is to the company they represent so initially they’re okay. Their immigration status is almost an afterthought, who focuses on family and humanitarian-based asylum and removal defence.
“Many of our clients look for other ways to normalize their status because they simply cannot wait for an employer to throw them a lifeline. And so they end up going down the road of a marriage-based green card application. In making talented individuals wait for visa availability, there is no winner. The only winners are the attorneys that are representing the individuals because the company is constantly spending the money to keep the talent.”
UNABLE TO EXIT ABUSIVE MARRIAGES:
Immigrants tend to seek marriage with citizens or opt for the asylum route since “employment-based immigration comes with problems that family-based humanitarian cases do not have.” A case in point is the incoming administration’s proposal to revoke H-4 work permits for H-1B spouses is “counterproductive”. But, such as it is, t he H-4 is problematic as well.
It’s typically one spouse who holds an H1-B while the other possess an H-4 visa. “It’s a visa tied to that individual. The male tends to be the breadwinner, adding that many of her women clients who want to leave their relationships can’t do so as they don’t have anywhere to stay.
“Often, they say they cannot return home. Despite India’s progress, there remains challenges depending on one’s background and location. You cannot advise them to remain in an abusive relationship — that’s clearly inappropriate. We’re witnessing situations where women particularly find themselves ineligible for Violence Against Women Act protections as they’re not married to citizens or residents. With US visa backlogs exceeding 2,50,000, it’s not reliable, and there’s no travel authorization during the pending period. They’re effectively stranded in the US without familial and social support, severely impacting their mental well-being.”
WHEN DESIS DON’T WANT MORE INDIANS:
If you’re an Indian national, you don’t consider a Haitian immigrant to be on the same level as you because they’re different. If you are a Trump supporter, you view the Indian national and the Haitian immigrant as equals. The issue is quite nuanced, and there’s considerable hypocrisy, even in the communities I represent.”
There’s a need to improve the way immigrants are perceived. “The courage it took that Indian national to say goodbye to his family, friends, everything he has ever known, in hopes of making it in the US to help his family back home, the average American does not appreciate that.” He biases and lies from certain political parties prompt Americans to back policies against their own best interest and they fail to see that the “person at your door asking for help can actually make your stronger, and more prosperous.”
“American history shows two phenomena. First, it’s always about othering — whether it was the Irish, Jews, Germans, or Polish. Second, as seen in the rhetoric of Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, every generation that succeeds in America tries to pull the bridge up behind them.”
COST OF MASS DEPORTATION:
Alen Takhsh of Takhsh Law, PC says:
- There are 13.3 million (approx) undocumented persons in the US.
- To deport them all US govt will need to hire between 220,000 and 409,000 new employees.
- To deport 1 million will cost about $88 billion annually.
- US prisons can hold about 1.9 million prisoners. Government will need to create 6 times more capacity for the illegals.
- Deporting 13 million will cost 4.2-6.8% of US GDP.
- 1.5 million illegals work in construction, sustaining the US housing industry.
