By Ritu Jha-
The Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) and the Indian-American community hope for positive changes in immigration and H1B visa policies if Kamala Harris becomes the presidential candidate. However, FIIDS also urged President Joe Biden to offer Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to legal immigrants, especially those on H1B visas, before the end of his term.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris have done so much for the undocumented people in the United States,” said Khanderao Kand (Photo above), Head of Policy and Strategy at the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora (FIIDS), said Indica“But all our calls for legal immigrants like us to be treated equally with undocumented immigrants have gone unheeded. If you can give EADs to undocumented immigrants, why can’t we give EADs to those who are in the U.S. on legal visas, have worked here for 10 years or more, are taxpaying citizens, have jobs, and contribute to the economy and society? The U.S. government should give them EADs so they have the same dignity.”
Kand complained: “I meet people every day who are suffering because there is no executive order on the EAD. They can issue an executive order for it. I tweeted about it. President Biden has three months left to do this. There is nothing wrong with that politically. If he can pass this executive order, it will help all of us. Such a decision would also help the Democrats gain support from the people.”
He pointed out that Trump and other Republicans had promised many positive policies that he liked.
“I like that. But I get scared when some comments are made about immigrants and immigration,” Kand said. “But the good thing is that this time Trump has clearly changed his stance on immigration by advocating for automatic green cards for foreign graduates of U.S. colleges. We congratulate and appreciate that. Because it is not a favor to anyone, but a step aimed at keeping talent in the United States and thus counteracting competition from China. So I believe they need to do something similar for immigration.”
When asked about Harris, Kand said he would wait for the final debate before deciding who he would vote for.
“I am an independent and vote in every election,” he said. “This year we will wait until all the debates are over before deciding who we will support. Kamala Harris is untested. We don’t know her policies yet. We are proud that she is Indian American. The letter that her campaign team sent out did not mention her Indian American roots. Harris should have said something about her origins. But I will not vote on this issue alone.”
For Kand and FIIDS, the bigger issue is what the candidates have to offer the community and the country. On June 13, 2024, FIIDS hosted a US-India Summit on Capitol Hill that focused on advocacy and discussions on key policy issues. Over 135 Indian American delegates from 22 states joined more than 83 elected officials from 35 states at the event. Topics included critical and emerging technologies (iCET), technology export exemption for India, upgrading India’s status as a major defense partner, eliminating the 7% per country quota for green cards to address the backlog on other immigration reforms, security in the Indo-Pacific region, issues of religious bias, and hate crimes against Indian Americans, particularly Hindus.
“This is the first time we have reached almost a hundred elected officials. I am proud that we are the first organization to reach 100 elected officials. But I also feel bad that this initiative was not taken earlier. It takes a lot of effort to make a difference. It will not be a walk in the park, but at least we are on the path,” Kand said.
FIIDS specializes in working with multiple organizations on different issues. “Different organizations have different areas and support us when we work on immigration issues or trade policy. These organizations often represent industry, we don’t. They are members of industry, like Microsoft, Google or India’s Reliance, and they also make the business work. But companies have policies and sometimes get blocked. So they act as enablers, while FIIDS focuses on policies. Originally, we started as a think tank and then worked with the think tanks in Washington DC, organizing conferences and publishing papers. But later we realized that if you don’t have influence, it’s no use. You can have a powerful position, but if you can’t translate it into policy, it’s all for nothing.”
“Most think tanks in Washington DC have connections, sometimes they are affiliated with a particular ideology or another organization,” Kand said. “So they have a way of getting their work into policy. We didn’t have that. We have better connections in India, but not in the United States. That’s when we realized we need an advocacy organization. Having achieved that, we are now focusing on institution building. That’s why we have the office and the full-time staff in Washington DC. Our story needs to be very clear so that everyone sees how much influence we have on issues like the H1B visa and green cards.”
