Immigrants should think of themselves as Americans first: Vance
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Washington (PTI): Immigrants who acquire US citizenship should think of themselves as Americans and not the country where they came from, US Vice President J D Vance said here.
Addressing students at the University of Georgia on Tuesday, Vance said he is married to the daughter of Indian immigrants, who have greatly contributed to the US, but his father-in-law never asked him to do anything specifically in the interest of his country of origin.
“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… is that you have to think about the best interest of the country, and not the country you came from beforehand and not of any sort of any any group that you came from,” Vance said in response to a question from a student of Indian-origin.
The student complained of fraud in the H1-B visa system and said her parents were yet to get their Green cards.
“You've got to think of yourself as an American. The system only works if everybody thinks of themselves as an American,” the vice president said at the event organised by Turning Point USA, a non-profit organisation that promotes conservative politics at educational institutions.
Vance recalled an incident from his Senate campaign trail where an American of Ukrainian origin asked him to do something to support his country.
"Sir, with all due respect, if you're an American, your country is the United States of America, not a place that you immigrated from whenever that was," Vance recalled telling the Ukrainian-American.
Vance said his father-in-law moved to the US from India, got educated here and became an American citizen.
“...never once, never once in my life, has he ever said, "You have to do this," or, "You should do this," because it's in the best interest of the country that I came from,” the vice president said.
“I think to the extent that attitude dominates among the new generation of Americans, that makes Americans feel welcoming towards people because to be an American means to look out for Americans first, and that's the perspective we have to take to our immigration policy,” Vance said.
The vice president is married to Usha Vance, the daughter of Lakshmi and Radhakrishna Chilikuri, who immigrated to the US in the 1980s.
He said there is a lot of fraud in the H-1B system, but acknowledged that people who have come to the United States in the past have enriched this country.
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BJP's 'preparation' for Punjab polls has begun: Kejriwal on ED raids against AAP MP Mittal
New Delhi (PTI): As the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids against AAP leader Ashok Kumar Mittal, the party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the BJP has started its "preparations" for the upcoming poll in Punjab by using central agencies.
The ED on Wednesday conducted raids at the business and residential premises of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal in Punjab and Haryana as part of a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), officials said.
In a post on X in Hindi, Kejriwal said, "Modi ji has started preparations for the elections in Punjab. But, the people of Punjab will not tolerate this... they would give a befitting reply to the BJP."
About 10 locations in Jalandhar and Gurugram are being covered under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). This includes the premises of the Phagwara-based Lovely Professional University (LPU) and two linked educational institutions named Tetr College of Business and Masters Union College of Business located in Gurugram, ED officials said.
Mittal was recently appointed the deputy leader of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha, replacing MP Raghav Chadha. The 61-year-old AAP leader is also the Chancellor of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara.
Reacting to the development, AAP leaders accused the BJP of misusing central agencies ahead of elections.
There was no immediate response from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also strongly condemned the raids, saying the BJP has begun its "preparations" for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, currently ruled by the AAP.
AAP leader Anurag Dhanda said the action indicates the BJP has begun its poll preparations in Punjab, and questioned whether the party can contest elections without relying on central agencies like the ED and the CBI.
Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia alleged that central agencies are deployed ahead of elections in states, followed by political visits by BJP leaders.
He also criticised the Centre, accusing it of functioning in an authoritarian manner.
Officials, however, said the searches are part of an ongoing FEMA investigation and are being conducted at various premises linked to Mittal's business entities.
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