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NORTH AMERICAN Newsline JULY 05, 2024 | The Indian Eye 32

NEWSMAKERS OF THE WEEK

Selected stories about Indian diaspora from our website www.theindianeye.com

RO KHANNA SAM PITRODA

No vote on EAGLE Act Veteran leader back as Chairman

disappoints Democrat of Indian Overseas Congress

Representative

ndian-American Representative Ro Khanna has been a strong advocate am Pitroda was re-appointed as the chairman of the Indian Overseas
for the EAGLE Act, which aims to alleviate the green card backlog faced Congress, an AICC release said on Wednesday. As per that the Congress
Iby immigrants, particularly those from India. This bipartisan legislation SPresident has reappointed Sam Pitroda to the position with immediate
seeks to eliminate the per-country limit on employment-based green cards and effect.
increase the limit on family-sponsored green cards from 7% to 15%. By doing Pitroda had resigned from the position earlier in May this year amid con-
so, it could potentially ease the backlog that ensnares hundreds of thousands troversies surrounding his remarks regarding the appearance of Indians. The
of immigrants, predominantly from India and China. Congress party then distanced itself from Pitroda’s remarks.
Khanna emphasized the economic advantages of removing per-country Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh informed
green card limits, highlighting its potential to address the longstanding back- about Pitroda’s decision to step down through a post on X.
log experienced by immigrants, particularly those from India, who are seeking “Sam Pitroda has decided to step down as Chairman of the Indian Over-
permanent residency in the United States. seas Congress of his own accord. The Congress President has accepted his
Despite his efforts to include the EAGLE Act in this year’s US Nation- decision,” the post mentioned.
al Defense Authorization Act (NDA), the Republican supermajority on the Pitroda, in an interview with ‘The Statesman’, while reflecting upon the
committee opposed it, resulting in disappointment as the House chose not to democracy in India, said, “We have survived 75 years in a very happy environ-
advance the bill for a vote. ment where people could live together, leaving aside a few fights here and
there. We could hold a country together as diverse as India, where people in
The Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) the East look like Chinese, people in the West look like Arabs, people in the
North look like whites, and maybe people in the South look like Africans.”
Act aims to address the lengthy wait times faced by immigrants, He said the people of India respect different languages, religions, food

who are seeking permanent residency in the United States. The and customs, which vary from region to region. “That’s the India that I believe
in, where everybody has a place and everybody compromises a little bit,” he
current employment-based green card backlog exceeds 1 million, said.
As the remarks created an uproar amid the Lok Sabha elections, with
primarily impacting Indian and Chinese applicants. By eliminating the ruling BJP coming out all guns blazing against the Congress party, Jairam
per-country caps, the EAGLE Act aims to ease these wait times. Ramesh said that the analogies drawn by Sam Pitroda are “most unfortunate
and unacceptable.”
While the Biden administration supports the EAGLE Act, significant
steps to accelerate its passage through Congress have not yet been taken. Continued on next page... >>

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