Today Wisconsin State Rep. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Jefferson) held a joint press conference with Rep. Samba Baldeh (D-Sun Prairie) and advocates from Improve the Dream to call on the Wisconsin Congressional Delegation to support the America’s Children Act, at the Wisconsin Capitol Building.
Under current immigration law, dependents of employment-based visa holders have until the age of 21 to obtain a visa number for a green card before “aging out” — losing dependent status and the opportunity to obtain a green card as a dependent, according to the Americas Children Act website. Those in this situation must either obtain another status, such as an F1 visa, or leave the U.S. for their country of citizenship.
Green card quotas have not changed since 1990, but wait times have, according to the Cato Institute. As of 2018, 14 percent of would-be legal immigrants would live their entire lives without ever seeing a green card if they stayed in line indefinitely.
This backlog has put over 250,000 children and young adults, legal immigrants who have grown up and attended schools in the U.S., at risk of facing deportation after turning 21, according to Improve the Dream.
On average, individuals affected by this lapse in immigration policy entered the U.S. at the age of five and have lived in the U.S. for over 12 years, according to Improve the Dream. More than 99% of these individuals pursue higher education, 87% of whom are in STEM and health care fields, according to Improve the Dream.
During the press conference, advocates from Improve the Dream shared first hand how this current immigration system has limited their opportunities in the U.S.
Sun Prairie High School junior Pragnya Vella explained that having immigrated to the U.S. with her family at the age of two, she considers the U.S. her only home, yet, when she turns 21, she will likely face deportation.
Vella added that her status as an impermanent resident has made it more difficult to pursue her educational goals. After being accepted into a prestigious summer economics research program at the University of Chicago, Vella’s offer was rescinded due to her immigration status.
“I was excited to be accepted into a prestigious summer economics research program at the University of Chicago, working for months on AP microeconomics coursework on top of my regular school classes,” Vella said during the press conference. “I had put in a tremendous amount of effort to earn this position. However, because of my immigration status, my acceptance was rescinded.”
In order to patch this hole in immigration law Sen. Alex Padilla, (D-CA) and Sen. Rand Paul, (R-KY) introduced the America’s Children Act Sept. 2021, according to Rep. Deborah Ross’ (D-NC) website. The bill, which has been introduced in both the House and Senate would provide lawful permanent resident status to certain college graduates who entered the U.S. as children, protect children from “aging out” by locking in a child’s age at the time their parents filed for a green card rather than the final action date, offer work authorizations for children of long-term visa holders whose green card applications are backlogged and allow children who have aged out to retain original priority date for future petitions, according to the America’s Children Act.
Despite receiving strong bipartisan support from Congress, the America’s Children Act has been stuck in the mire of immigration legislation without being passed for years now, Founder and President of Improve the Dream Dip Patel said.
During the press conference, Patel said the America’s Children Act is common sense legislation that will help keep talent within the country and improve the lives of thousands of Americans.
“Ending aging out will empower people to tap into their talents and ambitions helping us and our country reach its fullest potential. And that won’t be possible if we continue to waste the product of our country and Wisconsin’s investments by forcing thousands of American raised and educated children to self deport every year,” Patel said. “It is time to permanently end aging out and pass America’s Children Act.”
