Protests
Under current discriminatory immigration laws, some immigrants can get their green cards within a year while others (specifically those born in India) wait multiple decades. An immigrant from India might have to wait 150 years for a Green Card, while an identical or even less qualified immigrant from Indonesia gets a green card right away.
For the last two decades, every morning Immigrants from India, wake up in the morning and go to work as second class immigrants. Indian Immigrants and only Indian immigrants:
Face the possibility of the arbitrary deportation of their entire families if they lose their job or the primary breadwinner dies or becomes disabled.
Grapple with the deportation of their own children at the age of 21.
Suffer with the grating inability to freely travel and visit aged parents.
All of these and more have dehumanized Indian immigrants in the United States and every single Indian Immigrant stuck in limbo now knows about Senator Dick Durbin’s indifference towards the situation. It should come as no surprise that protests have broken out all over Illinois over Senator Dick Durbin’s offensive behavior.
Additionally, the per-country cap on employment based green card has caused many absurdities including, a situation where Doctors, Scientists and Engineers from India have to wait 150 years for a Green Card, while Pizza Delivery Drivers (from say Iran) get Green Cards right away. While all workers are essential, it is offensive to use a worker's country of birth to make some workers more equal to others. The only differentiator between an immigrant who gets a Green Card right away and one who is denied an Employment Based Green Card for 150 years is country of birth.
Arbitrary Self-Deportation of Entire Families
Until employment-based immigrants actually receive green cards, they need to renew their temporary work visas on a regular basis, and if renewals are rejected for any reason, they lose everything - even after living in the United States for decades. Entire families who have lived in the United States for decades, with U.S. citizen children can be arbitrarily deported:
If the primary breadwinner loses their job.
If the primary breadwinner dies or becomes disabled.
If an immigration lawyer makes a clerical error in their application for an extension of their temporary work visa (which they need to stay in the U.S. while waiting for their Green Card).
If the Department of Homeland Security makes an error while processing their application for an extension of their temporary work visa.
If the Consular Officer rejects their application for a travel document to re-enter the country (a non-appealable situation). This can happen for any reason including the Consular officer having a bad day.
If the Immigration Officer at the Airport denies entry into the United States. This again can happen for any reason, including the immigration officer having a bad day. This is also non-appealable.
Because of the racist national origin quotas that Senator Durbin is working so hard to preserve, this is only happening to Indian immigrants. All of this creates a tremendous amount of stress and uncertainty in these families' lives. If they had been born anywhere else in the world, most of them would already be U.S. citizens. The only reason these families continue to face this stress of living like desperate animals from one uncertain visa extension to the next is they committed the “crime” of being born in India and Senator Durbin doesn’t like Indian immigrants. For the 15 years that Immigration Voice has been advocating to fix this issue, Senator Durbin has shown no empathy towards Indian immigrants; in fact, his office has taunted our members with statements like “why don’t you go back?”
Mandatory Self-Deportation of children at age 21
Children who came to this country as minors “age out” of their parents’ green card application on their 21st birthday. They will have no legal status in this country and will have to self-deport. It is unfair and unthinkable that having grown up as Americans since they were toddlers, they now need to self-deport to countries they can’t even remember. Senator Durbin is known as the champion of the DREAM act which seeks to avert the same fate for undocumented children, but he is absolutely fine with children of Indian immigrants having to self-deport to countries they can’t even remember. Senator Durbin’s aversion to Indian immigrants evidently extends to children as well.
Deportation of Grieving Spouses and Children
While waiting decades for a Green Card, if the principal applicant on the employment based green card dies, the dependent spouse and children lose their immigration status and have to self-deport. Practically speaking, this means once the primary breadwinner dies, even children who are U.S. citizens will have to leave the country since their only remaining parent will not be able to stay with them in the United States. All of this creates tremendous stress and uncertainty that Senator Durbin has no empathy for.
Inability to travel and meet family
Until they receive their green cards, immigrants on a work visa who travel internationally have to get their travel documents re-issued at a U.S. Consulate overseas before they can return to the United States. This process is uncertain and often results in delays and denials, even for immigrants who have already lived in the United States for many years. They can also be denied entry into the country at the airport.
Professionals from India, who are following the law and providing for their families while waiting decades in racist discriminatory lines for their Green Cards, have to make terrible decisions about traveling to visit sick or old family members. Do they risk traveling to visit a sick family member and risk not being able to come back to support their spouse and child? It is a choice that no human being should have to make.
Despite hearing these stories for 15 years, Senator Durbin is not only unmoved, but seems to take a sadistic pleasure in our members suffering - by pitting them against immigrants who don’t have a wait time and mocking Indians who suffer such long wait times.
Indentured Servitude
Being in the line for employment-based Green Cards for decades also leaves Indian immigrants indentured to their employer, which opens them to exploitation and abuse. Employers literally have the ability to deport entire families. However, immigrants will put up with a lot for the opportunity to give their children a better life. One would think Senator Durbin would understand and appreciate the grit and determination of immigrants, however for the past 15 years, his staff has been telling us to “go back home”.
Dehumanization
There is nothing more dehumanizing than to be considered a number and not a human being. Senator Dick Durbin dehumanizes Indian immigrants all the time when he does offensive mathematics on our equality at every possible occasion.
