DES MOINES, Iowa – During a press call last Friday, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, said she learned about navigating the legal immigration system during a visit to Gentle Dental in Cedar Rapids last week.
She said Dr. Vijay Vaddati, DDS, discussed the challenges faced by those who come legally to the United States.
“Many of them have children in this country, so the age 21 challenges that they’re facing, challenges of the employment-based Green Card backlog. And then, we talked a lot about potential reforms that could help improve our legal immigration system,” Hinson said.
The Iowa Torch asked the congresswoman what ideas she took away from meeting with Dr. Vaddati and his associates.
“So a lot of the conversation centered on specifically, their children who came to the US at a young age and then are facing challenges because their children can’t work with the visa situations that they have. They shared stories with me of the cost that’s associated with re-upping these visas while they’re in the line every three years,” Hinson answered.
“I think the biggest takeaway on those is, we do need to reform the process because it’s taking a significant amount of time and a significant amount of money,” she said.
Hinson also added it costs employers as well since she also spoke with a human resources representative during that visit.
“As an employer, they have to jump through a lot of hoops as well,” she said.
“So those are two of the areas that I’m focused on trying to improve the process. And, you know, I think the biggest discussion centered around, you know, they are facing these real challenges as families here facing this fear of being deported as they see people coming across the border illegally, and being given a path,” Hinson concluded.
Listen to her entire press call:
