Washington: US lawmakers and immigration experts have condemned as "reckless and wrong" the Trump administration's new policy that requires green card seekers to make their applications from their home country.
The reactions came after the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memo declaring that adjustment of status inside the United States should be treated as an “extraordinary form of relief” rather than a routine immigration pathway.
Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera called the new immigration policy disruptive and harmful to families, workers and the American economy.
“I strongly oppose the Trump administration’s disruptive decision to require many students, temporary visa holders, and other individuals seeking green cards to leave the United States and return to their home countries while their applications are processed,” Bera said in a statement.
“This policy creates unnecessary fear and uncertainty for families, workers, and employers who are following the law,” he added.
USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler defended the policy, saying the administration was “returning to the original intent of the law.” The administration argued that the change would discourage visa overstays and reduce pressure on the immigration system.
Ajay Bhutoria, former White House Commissioner on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), said that the directive "inflicts massive, immediate anxiety on highly skilled professionals who have spent years building lives, families, and businesses in the United States".
"Forcing legal residents—who have continuously maintained status, paid taxes, and driven the American innovation economy—to abruptly abandon their lives here and gamble their futures on consular processing abroad is counterproductive and harmful. It creates immense corporate chaos for enterprise talent pipelines and unconscionably tears families," Bhutoria said in a statement.
Congresswoman Grace Meng, Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), said that "this reckless policy shows a stunning disregard for the human cost it will impose on hundreds of thousands of people each year. We will pursue every avenue to fight against this reprehensible decision and push for its reversal.”
