South Asian Diaspora

Click here for the March 2012 issue of India Currents I did...

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:05:00 -0400

Click here for the March 2012 issue of India Currents

I did this story to reach out to a group that is pretty invisible when it comes to debates about immigration reform and immigrant rights.

It’s a big deal for India Currents to shine the spotlight on an issue that most of our community speaks about in hushed tones. The United States knows us as mostly doctors and engineers. And while many South Asians do enjoy a relatively good life, silver-lined with “model minority” status, there are many of us who do not have the same luxury.

South Asian Americans make up one-sixth of the undocumented population in the United States. They become undocumented in many different ways:

Overstaying visas to stay with family
Losing their H-1B jobs
Leaving an abusive marriage with a H-1B holder
Being exploited as a domestic worker or sex trafficking
Aging out
Losing their asylum cases and overstaying due to family ties here
Crossing the border through Mexico

We need to have these hard and awkward conversations within our communities. We need to ensure that the most vulnerable parts of our population get the support and services they need. And it is my hope that through the article, I’ll get to meet and help out many others like me.I hope everyone enjoys the issue.

#NSEERS Lands #DREAMAct Youth Behind Bars, Deportation Looming

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 01:53:33 -0500

Earlier this year, the Obama Administration terminated NSEERS, a post-9-11 program that targeted and placed non-citizen Muslim men from over 24 countries in deportation proceedings. But the termination provides no relief for thousands of immigrants who face deportation as a result of the program. Hadi Zayed Zaidi, a Pakistani-American who was brought here at the age of 4, is one such immigrant who registered with the NSEERS program when he was merely 16 — a minor. Two weeks ago, ICE agents raided Hadi’s home and took him into custody. Hadi – now 25 — has been refused bail because he is Pakistani and faces imminent deportation to Pakistan, a country he has not seen since he was 4.

Hadi is locked up in a detention center in California right now, awaiting deportation to Pakistan, a country he has not seen since he was 4 years old. When his family tried to post bond for him, the detention center told them that since Hadi is Pakistani-born, they could not release him on bail.

And get this — his parents are legal permanent residents and his grandmother is a U.S. citizen. So much for prosecutorial discretion.

Sign a petition to help Hadi here and bring him home for the holidays.

Help: Minhaz Has to Wear An Ankle Bracelet and Could Be Deported Back to Bangladesh

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 10:38:00 -0500

URGENT: On Friday, November 4th, Minhaz was forced to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and has to present a one-way plane ticket to Bangladesh, a country he hasn’t been to in 20 years, on November 18th!

Minhaz’s father lost his asylum case as a result of the negligence and wrongful advice of his attorney. He was deported back to Bangladesh where he was murdered for his political affiliations. Now Minhaz has to go through the traumatic experience of fighting his deportation to a country where he could suffer the same fate.

Please take immediate action to stop Minhaz’s deportation!

1. Sign this petition

2. Call DHS – Janet Napolitano 202-282-8495 and ICE – John Morton 202.732.3000

Sample Script: “I am calling to ask that DREAM-Eligible student Minhaz Khan (A# 70663420) be allowed to stay in the U.S. Minhaz came to the United States when he was only 4 years old. Minhaz is a college graduate with a degree in Neuroscience and wants to contribute back to the only country he calls home. Don’t deport DREAMer Minhaz Khan.”

3. Click here for more information and to forward this petition to your friends.

Just days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) held that DREAM Act student Shamir Ali...

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 02:00:58 -0400

Just days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) held that DREAM Act student Shamir Ali was a “fugitive alien,” Ali was released from detention thanks to outpouring support. His mom was less lucky — she was deported back to Bangladesh in 2009 for driving without a license.

Nadia Habib and Mom Win A One-Year Stay of Removal

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 10:07:47 -0400

“Obviously, it’s a roller coaster. I’m just really grateful to be able to stay here longer,” she said. “I’m just gonna continue doing what I’ve been doing, living my life as I have. And wait for an answer.”

Ethnically Indian, I was born in Fiji and I came to the United States when I was three-years-old. Six months later, I became Undocumented. At the age of 23, I became Undocumented and Unafraid.

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 10:21:55 -0400

Being raised in America, I caught the “American Dream” virus that was spread by teachers. In elementary school and middle school, I never knew what it meant to be undocumented; all I knew is that I had a passion to learn. I was exactly like the student sitting next to me learning about the values this country was founded on, believing that those who work hard can succeed in America. As sappy as it may sound, obtaining an education felt like my calling. The teachers must have seen my thirst for knowledge and recognized the eagerness in my non-verbal and verbal expressions because they always encouraged me to learn and achieve at my full potential.

My accomplishments read like a grocery list. I have been on the Honor Roll since kindergarten. In middle school, I won academic medals through my participation in MESA and Science Fairs. For every year that I was in high school, I volunteered an average of 300 hours, raising funds for March of Dimes, breast cancer research, and UNICEF. I took on an average of five honors and advanced placement courses a year. I gained the respect of the student body, teachers, and administrators through my dedication and desire to be a hardworking student. I graduated in the top five percent of my high school graduating class. I was accepted to CSULB,
CSUMB, CSULA, CSUF, UCLA, UCSC, and LMU. At the conclusion of my senior year I
accumulated more than $10,000 in scholarships from private donors ranging from $250 to $1,500. I was unable to qualify for financial aid, so I chose to pursue my undergraduate Business Administration degree with a minor in Speech Communication at CSU, Fullerton. In May of 2005, I became the first person in my family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. On October 1, 2011, I will submit my application for the masters in Speech Communication with emphases in Intercultural and Organization Communication to CSU, Fullerton.

The challenges faced by undocumented students are unique, but nevertheless, humbling. During my first year at CSU, Fullerton I commuted by public transportation, traveling two hours to campus. Thankfully, my teachers and scholarship donors believed in me enough to provide funding for my education. I had enough to comfortably finish my first year without having to worry about paying tuition. Nonetheless, I still had to scrape together the funds for the following year. I found a job that paid minimum wage and I saved every penny by cutting my expenses to the bare minimum. My paycheck had the federal, state, and local taxes withheld. Like everyone who works in this country, I always had taxes due to Uncle Sam. I would forgo any desire for material possessions because the desire to have a degree from a university was more important to me.

I am not a criminal. I am a productive member of society. I am educated. I am hard working. Given chance or opportunity, I will make a difference. By continuing to be Undocumented, America is being robbed of its opportunity to increase the productivity of companies; to have communities inspired, to experience significant change, and to have another humble public servant because if given the opportunity, this country would find all of these things in me. Research shows that individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds are more prosperous. I want to give back to the community that nurtured my growth and development. Education is the light that I shine down the dark tunnel, to urge, challenge, and undermine the fear of not knowing my obscure future. I want to serve as a mentor to the youth in disadvantaged communities and encourage them to pursue a college education. I want to show those like me the door to success and hopefully they will be courageous enough to walk through it.

There are thousands of Undocumented college students who want to give back to the only country they know; their only home, the United States of America. People find it easy to say, “Deport them all!” To me that would mean leaving the only country that I know, leaving my mom and dad, leaving my four sisters, leaving my ten nieces and nephews, and leaving my friends, leaving behind an opportunity to make America a better place.

Immigration is a global issue affecting the lives of people everywhere. This is not just an issue for Mexicans, Central Americans, or South Americans; this is an issue for Asians, South Asians, Pacific Islanders, Australians, and anyone else who works hard and fights for the opportunity to selflessly give back to the only community they know.

We all have a choice. I choose to become a part of a higher purpose: to get the DREAM Act passed and make the world a better place. My aspiration to make a difference starts here.

India Abroad: Living in Limbo

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:28:00 -0400

India Abroad: Living in Limbo

"It seems silly that a piece of paper with nine digits triumphs over and lessens my accomplishments...."

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 19:21:53 -0400

“It seems silly that a piece of paper with nine digits triumphs over and lessens my accomplishments. My parents and I immigrated to the United States from India 21 years ago. My father’s application for change of status failed and as a dependent, I became undocumented. However, by that time I had become fully ingrained in the cultural fabric of America. I have completed elementary and secondary school and I am currently pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. I am an author or co-author of several scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and several posters and abstracts at scientific conferences. I would like to pursue a Ph.D. and become a biotech entrepreneur/ venture capitalist. I will not allow my undocumented status to diminish my lofty goals.”

- RS, undocumented immigrant student of Indian origin

Mohammad Abdollahi I have known for a long time that I am...

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:11:00 -0400

Mohammad Abdollahi

I have known for a long time that I am undocumented. I have also known, for a long time, that I cannot return to Iran, the country of my birth. There are many reasons for this- the most important of which is because America is my home- but one major reason is because I am gay. In Iran, capital punishment is the penalty for homosexuality.

“I was young. I had to go in front of the judge. I was scared knowing I could be deported at any...

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 01:46:09 -0400

“I was young. I had to go in front of the judge. I was scared knowing I could be deported at any time. That fear was always inside me,” said Azam, recalling his high school and college years when he had to go to court several times a year.

Mohammed Azam with Scott Singer. Azam (27) manages a Häagen-Dazs shop that he manages in the South Street Seaport. For eight years, Azam faced deportation back to his native Bangladesh, which he left at age nine, because of the racially discriminatory post-9/11 law NSEERS, that required Arab and Muslim men to register with the authorities. Azam complied with the law only to face deportation even though all the other members of his immediate family by then were in the United States as permanent residents or citizens. A letter from Borough of Manhattan President Scott Stringer and 20 other elected officials urged the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency to drop the case, which it finally did on June 1, 2011.

(Photo: Terese Loeb Kreuzer)

Humorous Video of Prerna Lal speaking about the DREAM Act...

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:22:00 -0400

Humorous Video of Prerna Lal speaking about the DREAM Act movement at the South Asian Americans Leading Together Changemaker Reception, April 1, 2011. She currently faces deportation from the United States. Her grandparent is an American citizen and her parents are green-card holders. You can read more about her story on her blog here.

My name is Him Ranjit and I am undocumented. I am originally...

Sat, 02 Jul 2011 17:29:00 -0400

My name is Him Ranjit and I am undocumented.

I am originally from Nepal. My dad came to the U.S. in 1996 to study and to work to support his family, including extended family. My mom and I migrated here when I was 10, in 2001, to reunite as a family. We came here on a travel visa to visit my dad, but we ended up staying with an expired visa. After my visa expired, my family was classified as being “illegal.” The first time I heard the term was when I became aware of my status. The derogatory term “illegal” has been used to describe me on numerous occasions, though I am American by heart and undocumented because of my status. Overall, my family and community have been pretty supportive of me being open about my status and taking up the immigrant rights cause, even though they were hesitant in the beginning. We’re fighting for our lives and we won’t stop until we win.

I grew up in Euless, Texas, a city between Dallas and Fort Worth. The community I grew up in was very diverse and accepting of different cultures. I grew up in this country envisioning a great future as an American. But on the path to my dreams, I have found roadblocks everywhere I go due to the broken immigration system. From trying to get into a university to getting a drivers license to working part-time to pay for school, I’ve had to go through obstacles because of my status over things that some consider commonplace.

I am a future engineer studying Biomedical Engineering and Government at University of Texas, Austin. I am an active student here in the UT community, involved in University Leadership Initiative, getting people out to vote and being involved in sports and other activities. I am, by any means, like many UT Austin sophomore students: I study till late at night, work out in Gregory Gym, go to the football games, stand in the long lines at Wendy’s and sometimes nap on the couches of the Texas Union in between classes. I am very much like everybody in this university, except for a nine-digit number to identify me.

For more, check out the Drop the I-Word campaign.

From MeltIce.net Saad was born in Bangladesh and brought to the...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:47:00 -0400

From MeltIce.net

Saad was born in Bangladesh and brought to the United States in 1994 at the age of three. His father filed for political asylum. The claim was denied and his father elected to not leave the United States resulting in the entire family being put into proceedings. At the same time Saad’s uncle filed an immigrant visa for his father in 1999. The father was advised to hide until the petition was approved. The petition was approved by the National Visa Center in 2009 and is currently in Bangladesh for processing although it is felt the father will be denied a visa based on his being deported.

Saad had absolutely no knowledge of any of this as a child. It was only when Saad was in high school and preparing to go to college that he learned he was not a citizen. Saad was an excellent student and graduated from Liberty High School in Frisco, Texas with honors. He was accepted to such institutions as Texas A&M University, Baylor University, University Texas- Austin, University of Oklahoma and Southern Methodist University. Due to financial issues, Saad accepted a full scholarship to University Texas- Arlington in the field of Electrical Engineering. His life in America and his education came to an abrupt halt when he was detained on November 24, 2009 for forty two days in Batavia, New York and deported to Bangladesh on January 6, 2010.

Saad is currently in Malaysia as his supporters try to figure out a way to bring him back to the United States.

"I found a lawyer who doesn’t seem to care about the money (she’s charging half per court appearance..."

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:38:36 -0400

“I found a lawyer who doesn’t seem to care about the money (she’s charging half per court appearance what the next cheapest lawyer did and she actually plans on doing something), and is an immigrant herself. She also was kind enough to spend time talking to us, and through a random conversation about what life back in India would mean, discovered we might qualify for asylum. We are also fortunate enough to have a judge known for being open minded. So we’re busy translating documents, and we’re here for at least a few months as the process gets underfoot. If the asylum application is accepted as valid, then we begin a process that will last at least a year (not counting appeals) in which essentially I’ll have to prove I’m so American that life in India would actually be dangerous.”

- Rohit in Can’t Solve What You Can’t Understand.

Taha Mowla was one of the first “Education Not...

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:11:12 -0400

Taha Mowla was one of the first “Education Not Deportation” campaigns ran by DreamActivist in 2009 with the support of SEIU.

Taha was set for deportation on July 29, 2009 to Bangladesh - a country that he has no memory of or connection to. His parents brought him to America from Bangladesh in 1993, when he was only 2 years of age. He has lived in Jersey City for more than 18 years.

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez wrote the Department of Homeland Security on Taha’s behalf, requesting that they defer action on Taha’s deportation because “our nation benefits more by his presence thank by his absence.”

"I came to America when I was nine years old from India. I graduated from elementary school, middle..."

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:59:00 -0400

“I came to America when I was nine years old from India. I graduated from elementary school, middle school, and high school in America. I was even able to attend University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and obtain a Bachelor’s of Science in Movement Sciences (Kinesiology) magna cum laude in May of 2007. Furthermore, I was able to attend and graduate with a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) cum laude from UIC College of Pharmacy in May of 2011. I am involved in leadership roles in multiple organizations; I was a peer tutor, teaching assistant, and much more. My goal is to pursue a post doctoral fellowship or graduate school with an emphasis on Health/Economics Outcomes research. However, I am unable to become a contributing member of this great country. I am undocumented”

- Indian-American DREAM Act student

Prerna Lal, Fiji-Indian DREAM-Act-eligible youth currently...

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:41:08 -0400

Prerna Lal, Fiji-Indian DREAM-Act-eligible youth currently facing deportation from the United States (via @queerdesi)

"It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school that I first found out that I was..."

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:37:00 -0400

“

It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school that I first found out that I was undocumented. I came home to show my parents that I got a 100 on my driver’s ed class and I wanted to go to DMV to get my learner’s permit. My parents told me that my dad’s asylum case was still pending in court and they didn’t know how long it would take. My dad assured me, as his lawyer told him, that once I apply for college, I could obtain a student visa. A year later, my dad’s case was dismissed by the court and my dad decided voluntarily departure was better than trying to appeal

I was depressed. I felt betrayed. I worked hard in school. I graduated in the top 10% of my class with a 3.8 GPA. Should I be angry at my dad for not hiring a more competent lawyer or at the broken immigration system that is ridiculously slow and ridden with loopholes? I was an American in every way except where it really mattered: documents. I never told my friends because I didn’t know how they would react. After all, it was high school.

”

- Piash was born in Bangladesh, brought to the U.S. at the age of 10. He considers himself Bangladeshi-American. He is attending college and pursuing a degree in Engineering.

Like Jose Antonio Vargas, I grew up in the San Francisco Bay...

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:23:10 -0400

Like Jose Antonio Vargas, I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area: headquarters of tech giants like Google and Facebook, and also home to the SF Giants, who I might mention are World Series champions. It’s a place of opportunity and innovation, and a place that’s full of immigrant families like my own.

Mandeep Chahal speaking in Washington D.C. about winning a stay of deportation. Full transcript