E-Paper
JD Vance tells Indian-origin student about 'obligations' when asked about green cards
US Vice President JD Vance answered a question about the country’s immigration system by referring to his wife’s Indian roots
US Vice President JD Vance answered a question about the country’s immigration system by referring to his wife’s Indian roots, even as he emphasised that American citizens must put America first.
Vance was speaking at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia on April 14 when he took questions from the audience. An Indian-origin student asked the US Vice President what the Trump administration is doing for people who have been waiting decades for their Green Card.
Indian-origin student on US immigration
“I’m the daughter of a legal immigrant. So, my mom and my dad, we've been here for over 10 years. I was born here,” the 20-year-old student told Vance.
“For people who have been in the US on H-1B visas, it’s been really hard getting a green card due to quotas and everything. My family is from India, and the quotas are so bad” she said.
The Indian-origin student asked Vance how the Trump administration was planning to fix the immigration system for legal immigrants, noting that people have to wait years for their green card.
JD Vance on immigrants
In response, JD Vance said that the US needs to take a harder look at fraud in the H-1B visa system and tighten enforcement, while also acknowledging that many immigrants have contributed positively to the country.
(Also read: Vance backs H-1B visa curbs, slams firms for bypassing American labour for ‘cheaper third world options’)
The American vice president, who is married to Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants to the US, said that many people have taken advantage of the H-1B system to enter the US.
“You heard me talk about H-1B fraud, because I think there is a lot of fraud in the H-1B system,” he said. “And I think you can believe on the one hand that there's a lot of fraud in the H-1B system, while also believing that there are people who have come to the United States in the past who have enriched this country.”
JD Vance on Indian wife and in-laws
He then pointed out his personal connection to immigration by citing his in-laws, who immigrated to the United States from India. However, JD Vance added that it is the responsibility of immigrants to think about the country where they are based, rather than the one where they came from.
“I’m married to the daughter of immigrants from India, and I love my in-laws, and they’re great people, and they’ve been great contributors to the United States of America,” he said.
(Also read: Who is Usha Chilukuri Vance, second lady of the US?)
“But I also think that when you become an American citizen, whether your family is nine generations of lineage in the United States or whether your family has zero generations of lineage in the United States, one of the responsibilities that we must expect of citizens, one of the obligations of citizens is that you have to think about the best interest of the country, and not the country you came from beforehand.”
Vance ended by saying that any group that comes to America must think of themselves as American first.
