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1.3 million Indian American voters may be potential game changers in Nov. 3 presidential poll.

In just 100 days, 1.3 million Indian American voters have to choose between President Tweety Donald Trump and Sleepy Joe Biden, as they call each other, who they want to win the White House.

Time was when immigrants from India largely voted for Democrats in presidential elections since 1992 when Democrat Bill Clinton ousted incumbent Republican President George H.W. Bush.

But things started changing in 2016 when a group of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis supporters rooted for Abki bar Trump Sarkar (This time Trump government) copying Modis own 2014 slogan.

So much so that now both political parties are wooing them in right earnest hoping their demographic profile in eight battle ground states from Arizona to Wisconsin giving them a clout far larger than their numbers, would prove a game changer.

But who would be good for them, who would do better for the economy and who would stand by their former homeland. So lets take a look at issues close to their heart starting with immigration.

President Trump earlier this month promised to bring a great and very powerful merit-based immigration act that would be strong on borders and also take care of people from DACA in a very Republican way.

But he gave no details. Nor does his campaign site listing an immigration reform proposal which calls for the transition to a merit-based immigration plan among the promises kept.

The campaign also does not outline Trumps plans on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the Obama era program that protects undocumented immigrants, who were brought to the US as children, after it was upheld by the Supreme Court.

It simply says that the Trump administration also took action to wind down the DACA program in an orderly fashion giving Congress the opportunity to consider appropriate legislative solutions.

RELATED: Trump, Biden campaigns wooing Indian Americans (July 21, 2020)

President Trump, the campaign asserted has enforced immigration laws to protect American communities and American jobs and has made removals of illegal immigrants a priority.

Trump, it notes has called on Congress to fully fund a wall along the Southern border, to close legal loopholes that enable illegal immigration, to end chain migration, and to eliminate the visa lottery program.

The campaign also makes no mention of Trumps June 22 proclamation suspending H-1B and other work visas until the yearend, or his abortive attempt to send back foreign students taking only on-line classes this fall.

Trumps rival Biden, on the other hand, has vowed to immediately lift the curbs on these work visas extensively used by Indian professionals if he wins the race to White House in November.

That will not be in my administration, he said in a June 27 digital town hall adding, The people coming on these [H-1B] visas have built this country.

RELATED: Biden vows to end green card caps, increase H-1B visas (July 15, 2020)

The former Vice President also promised to make it easier for qualified green card holders to move through this backlog in which thousands of Indian professionals are stuck for decades due to seven percent country caps.

Accusing Trump of having waged an unrelenting assault on our values and our history as a nation of immigrants, his campaign says, Its wrong, and it stops when Joe Biden is elected president.

Biden, it promised, will support expanding the number of high-skilled visas and eliminating the limits on employment-based visas by country, which create unacceptably long backlogs.

Biden, will also work with Congress to reform the current system of temporary work visas to allow workers in select industries to switch jobs, while certifying the labor markets need for foreign workers.

In the first 100 days, a Biden Administration will streamline and improve the naturalization process to make it more accessible to qualified green card holders, it promised.

Promising to protect Dreamers and their families, his campaign vowed to make them eligible for federal student aid and provide access to community college without debt.

RELATED: Joe Biden vows to lift Trumps H-1B ban if elected (July 1, 2020)

Supporting family-based immigration by preserving family unification as a foundation of our immigration system, Biden would exempt the spouse and children of green card holders from caps and allow parents to bring their minor children with them.

He also vowed to create a road map to citizenship for the nearly 11 million unauthorized immigrants who register, are up-to-date on their taxes, and have passed a background check.

The Biden campaign also vowed to end what it called Trumps detrimental asylum policies, and rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as Muslim bans.'

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Road to the White House: Immigration: Trumps merit with wall vs Bidens welcome for... - The American Bazaar

On July 21, 2020, President Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpGovernors' approval ratings drop as COVID-19 cases mount Gohmert says he will take hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 treatment Virginia governor, senators request CDC aid with coronavirus outbreak at immigrant detention facility MORE issued an executive order to exclude undocumented aliens from the apportionment base that will be established this year by the 2020 Census. Apportionment is the process of dividing up the 435 seats in the House of Representatives among the 50 states according to population.

This has resulted in a flurry of lawsuits claiming that the order is unconstitutional, which seems to happen every time Trump issues an executive order on immigration. These challenges havent had much success when they reach the Supreme Court.

The most recent one claimed that adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census was unconstitutional. The Court rejected that argument, but remanded the case on the ground that the Trump administration had violated the reasoned explanation requirement of administrative law.

In any case, those challenging the order should consider whether it is even possible for Trump to implement it before they waste a lot of time on unnecessary litigation I dont think it is.

The background

Article 1, Section 2, of the United States Constitution requires a census of the United States population every ten years to apportion seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and votes in the Electoral College.

The Electoral College is the formal body that elects the president and the vice president. Each state has as many "electors" in the Electoral College as it has Representatives and Senators in Congress, and the District of Columbia has three.

Steven A Camarota andKaren Zeigler, point out that apportionment is a zero-sum system. When immigration adds more population to some states than to others, it redistributes political power in Washington.

According to Trump, States that adopt policies which make it easier for undocumented aliens to enter this country unlawfully and hobble efforts to enforce the immigration laws should not be rewarded with greater representation in the House of Representatives.

For instance, Trump says current estimates indicate that one State [California] has approximately 2.2 million undocumented aliens and that if undocumented aliens are included in determining the upcoming apportionment, it could get two or three more congressional seats than it would otherwise.

The estimates

How likely it is that a large enough number of undocumented aliens will participate in the 2020 Census to make their participation an issue?

This question cant be answered without knowing how large the undocumented alien population is.

If there are only a few thousand of them, there would be no reason to think that they might skew the results of a country-wide census in a country as large as the United States. If there are 50 million of them

But the truth is that we have no idea how many there are.

Pew Research Center's (PEW) estimates of the undocumented alien population are highly respected even the Congressional Research Service relies on them.

PEW uses a process developed by Jeffrey S. Passel with former colleagues at theU.S. Census Bureauand theUrban Institute. Its known as the residual method for estimating the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the country.

The same approach is taken by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

The residual method starts with the Census Bureaus annual American Community Surveys(ACS), which are used to estimate the number of foreign born people in the United States. Then, an estimate of the number of lawful immigrants in the United States is subtracted from the foreign-born population estimate, and the remainder is the estimate of the undocumented alien population.

In other words, Undocumented Immigrants (U) = Total Foreign Born (F) Estimated Lawful Immigrant Population.

Using this method, PEW estimated that there were 10.5 million undocumented aliens in the U.S. in 2017; MPI estimated that there were 11.3 million in 2016; andFAIR estimated that there were 14.3 million as of 2019.

But the ACS surveys are sent each year to a rotating sample of only 2.6 percent of the American households, which amounts to approximately 3.5 million households. I doubt that such a relatively small survey has much statistical significance in a country as large as America, which has more than 330 million people.

Also, there is reason to doubt that many undocumented aliens participate in the ACS survey and whether the ones who do answer the questions honestly.

Despite statutory protections which prevent the Census Bureau from sharing information with law enforcement and other government organizations, interviews and focus groups conducted by the Census Bureau indicate that immigrants are afraid that their responses will be used to identify and penalize them or their undocumented household members.

Such fear is particularly likely with respect to the ACS survey because it includes questions about race, Hispanic origin, place of birth, citizenship, and when a person came to live in the United States.

In other words, the actual size of the undocumented alien population may be much higher than the estimates indicate or much lower.

And there is no way to know the rate at which the undocumented alien population increases each year either.

DHS tries to keep track of how many aliens make illegal entries along the 1,954-mileSouthwest border, but its records are based on the number of illegal crossers the border patrol apprehends and the number of got-aways. "Got-aways" are aliens who are observed making an illegal entry but are not caught.

DHS doesnt have any way of knowing how many aliens succeed in making an illegal crossing without being detected, and there could be a lot of them on a border thats nearly 2,000 miles long.

Unenforceable

Trumps main problem, though, is that there is no way for him to enforce his order.

How is he going to identify the undocumented aliens who participate in the Census?

I just filled out and submitted the 2020 Census questionnaire online. The requested information indicates my race, but it does not indicate whether I am an alien or if so, whether I have lawful status.

I will be very surprised if Trumps executive order results in the exclusion of undocumented aliens from the apportionment base that is established by the 2020 Census.

Nolan Rappaportwas detailed to the House Judiciary Committee as an executive branch immigration law expert for three years. He subsequently served as an immigration counsel for the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims for four years. Prior to working on the Judiciary Committee, he wrote decisions for the Board of Immigration Appeals for 20 years. Follow him on Twitter@NolanR1or athttps://nolanrappaport.blogspot.com.

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Arguments over whether to count illegal aliens in congressional apportionment may be moot | TheHill - The Hill

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During the 20142015 school year, Caleigh Wood started to learn about Islam as part of her 11th grade world history class. Upon discovering this, Caleighs dad, John, wrote on Facebook that he just about fucking lost it, adding in response to a commenter, A 556 round [of ammunition] doesnt study Islam and it kills them fuckers everyday. John told the schools vice principal that you can take that fucking Islam and shove it up your white fucking ass, according to federal court records. After saying that he was going to create a shit storm like you have never seen, he got banned from the La Plata, Maryland, high school.

That could have been the end of the story. Instead, Brandon Bolling and other lawyers from the Thomas Law More Center, a right-wing Christian group that declares itself battle ready to defend America, represented John as he sued the Charles County public school system for allegedly attempting to indoctrinate his daughter into Islam.

An excerpt of an anti-Muslim Facebook in which John Wood tagged his daughter. PACER

Last week, the Justice Department announced that it had hired Bolling, a former Marine and federal attorney, to be an assistant chief immigration judge in Texas, even though he has no discernible immigration experience. During two stints at the Thomas More Law Centerneither of which is disclosed in his government bioBolling worked on numerous cases that pitted his clients against Muslims and the gay community. Now Bollingwill help oversee the immigration cases of people detained in El Paso, and could be responsible for deciding whether victims of persecution based on their religions and sexual orientations receive protection under US asylum laws.

Bolling is one of 46 new immigration judges recently hired by the Trump administration. Another is Matt OBrien, who served as the research director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, one of the countrys leading anti-immigrant groups. The decision to hire both men is an escalation of the Trump administrations efforts to select judges sympathetic to its anti-immigration agenda. (The Justice Departments Executive Office for Immigration Review and the Thomas More Law Center did not respond to requests for comment.)

As part of the Justice Department, immigration courts lack the independence of federal courts. The decisions they make can determine whether immigrants who have been in the United States for decades can remain, or whether asylum seekers will be deported to the countries they fled. Even when immigrants appeal their decisions, they generally stick, since the Trump administration has made a point of filling the Board of Immigration Appeals with judges known for denying nearly all asylum claims.

When the Thomas More Law Center first hired Bolling more than a decade ago, the centers president, Richard Thompson, highlighted Bollings tours during Operation Enduring Freedom. I have a bias for lawyers with combat backgrounds, Thompson said. They make great lawyers in the Culture War.

John Wood wasnt the first Marine who Bolling represented in a lawsuit targeting Islam. In 2008, Bolling, another Thomas More attorney, and David YerushalmiThe Man Behind the Anti-Shariah Movement, in the words of a New York Timesheadlinefiled a complaint on behalf of a former Marine named Kevin Murrayin a suit against thenTreasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The suit alleged that the federal government violated the First Amendment by acquiring a stake in the finance and insurance giant AIG as part of its response to the financial crisis. The lawyers argued that AIG engaged in Shariah-based Islamic religious activities that are anti-Christian, anti-Jewish, and anti-American by offering some insurance products that complied with tenets of Islamic religious law governing lending and borrowing in order to serve Muslim clients. Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California-Los Angeles, pointed out at the time, The government no more cares about advancing Shariah through the AIG bailout than my local Ralphs supermarket cares about advancing kosher laws by selling products that are certified kosher.

But the lawsuit claimed that the governments endorsement of Islamic law sends a message to [Murray]that he is an outsider, not a full member of the political community. Murrays lawyers wrote that the theo-political doctrine of Islam is contrary to the dictates of the First Amendments religion clauses and that jihad was a way to gain political control and exercise Islamic authority over a population. The word infidel appeared seven times in their complaint. Not surprisingly, a judge dismissed the suit. (Bolling was no longer at Thomas More at the time.)

Bolling also took aim at homosexuality and sex education. In 2008, Bolling challenged the sex education curriculum of Montgomery County, Maryland, on behalf of plaintiffs including a group called Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. A Thomas More press release stated that the lawsuit objected to the notion that homosexuality is innatemeaning they are born that way.

Bolling argued in court that the curriculum was illegal because it required teaching factually inaccurate information, specifically that homosexuality is innate. He also thought it should be illegal to show students how to use condoms while engaging in oral and anal sex on the grounds that Maryland law prohibited teaching erotic techniques. The judge upheld the curriculum after a six-year legal battle that involved numerous other legal challenges. (The Thomas More centerhas been able to afford such prolonged litigation with financial support from Dominos Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan.)

John Wood didnt fare much better than Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays. Judge George Hazel concluded that Caleighs Christian teacher did not have a secret Muslim indoctrination plot. [T]he First Amendment does not afford the right to build impenetrable silos, completely separating adherents of one religion from ever learning of beliefs contrary to their own, Hazel concluded in favor of the school district. Nor, in this Courts view, does it prohibit a high school teacher from leading a purely academic study of a religion that may differ from the religious beliefs of some of his students.

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He Defended Anti-Gay and Anti-Muslim Causes. Now He's an Immigration Judge. - Mother Jones

Understanding the rights, history of immigrants in America is understanding the country in itself

FEIRAN ZHOU

American history is (among other people) built on the history of immigrants.

As it is so often said, America is a nation built on immigration (among other things), and the history between America and immigrants is understated most of the time, considering just how much this country owes them. Whether its been for the benefit of America, the immigrants or both, this country has relied on them for as long as its been a country. Which makes its tumultuous (to say the least) relationship with immigration weird in a way.

Understanding the history of immigration and what rights immigrants are fighting for today is integral to understanding America. While it is impossible to make a definitive list for understanding the role immigration plays in America, hopefully these recommendations will enlighten you a little.

Along with recommendations by yours truly, WSU history professor Lipi Turner-Rahman has contributed two.

Frontline: Immigration Battle

This episode came out in 2015 and mainly follows former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez as he pushes for immigration reform, while also spotlighting young immigrant activists and organizations like the National Council of La Raza. While it may be a little old, its still a very relevant look into the people fighting for immigration reform and the obstacles they face to carve out a place for themselves in America.

I think its also important to learn about immigration before our current president. We all know how charged of a topic it is now, but this episode reminds us that a lot of what immigration reformers are fighting for hasnt changed, hence the very relevant part.

Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay In 40 Questions by Valeria Luiselli

Tell Me How It Ends is 71 pages long, so even if you dont like to read, it doesnt take a long time to finish. The book is framed through the forty questions Luiselli, as a translator for unaccompanied child migrants, has to ask. Through those questions, Luiselli ponders what these children have gone through and also takes time to reflect on Americas history with immigration, as well as her journey to become a citizen.

There are a lot of hard parts to read for such a short book, from the hard facts Luiselli mentions about history or the immigration process to the personal experiences she describes. Those hard parts are what makes this book so important, and such an essential read.

Tell Me How It Ends is a soul-crushing look into immigration, why so many come to this country and how we treat them before, in travel and after they get here.

Bengali Harlem and the Lost Histories of South Asian America by Vivek Bald

Turner-Rahmans first recommendation traces the history of South Asian immigrants coming to American in the early 1900s, how they came to cities such as Harlem and Baltimore, and integrated with the communities of color.

This is a wonderful book that highlights the intermarriages, collation building and alliances that communities of color have had to make in America to survive, Turner-Rahman said.

Pioneering Punjabis

Turner-Rahmans second recommendation comes in the form of a historical archive by UC Davis, detailing the history of Punjabi Americans in California in the early 20th century. The archive looks into the personal experiences, the people, and most interestingly, how the Punjabi American community impacted California.

This archive also serves as a good representation of how immigrants have been a constant throughout American history, how theyve been making minor and major contributions that are often too quickly forgotten. Its an interesting look into a part of history you likely didnt know.

Excerpt from:
Educate Yourself: Immigration The Daily Evergreen - The Daily Evergreen

The Home Secretary said the UK is absolutely about to enter a glorious new era. Brexit transition rules will end in December allowing the country to finally take back control. Ms Patel told the Daily Express: January 1 is going to be one of those totemic moments in the history of this country, a landmark moment.

We are ending free movement. We are a government thats all about delivery.

The points-based system is just the first step to big immigration changes, changes to border control.

Ms Patel said the government is boosting economic investment in all parts of the UK.

We want to get Britain moving again but we actually want to get Britain motoring, she said.

We want to see the renaissance of our regions, we want to level up.

We have levers to do all that so this is just the start.

Ms Patel was speaking during a visit to Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, to meet local police on the first anniversary of being made Home Secretary.

The Cabinet minister said the Conservatives are unapologetically the party of law and order.

We have a first-class working relationship with the police, she said. I am absolutely shoulder to shoulder with them.

We dont stand behind them, we stand beside them. It is a journey for both of us in terms of the support we give and my commitment to them, but also through resourcing.

Ms Patel revealed 90,000 people have applied to be police officers since last October and the government is well ahead of its police recruitment targets.

READ MORE: Barnier warned public 'growing impatient' as no deal Brexit 'likely'

Police forces have received that largest uplift in funding in a decade at 1.1 billion.

That is moving the needle on law enforcement, Ms Patel said. We love the police, we respect the police, we are here for the police, we are the party of law and order.

Ms Patel, who visited the Blue Glove Boxing Academy, a gym for emergency services personnel, hailed police officers for their exceptional service during the coronavirus crisis.

She said there had been a spirit of national unity during the COVID lockdown and the police have been at the forefront of it.

Police have warned they will not be able to carry out widespread enforcement of new rules coming into force on Friday ordering the public to wear facemasks in shops.

Ms Patel said she did not believe that heavy-handed tactics would be necessary because people have been very conscientious about following the rules.

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She insisted enforcement is always a last resort.

People will apply their common sense, she said. We dont need police officers to go round in a pernicious way to act in an enforcement way.

The Home Secretary said she did not expect there to be widespread flouting of the rules over the summer, despite recent problems such as overcrowding on Bournemouth beach.

She said people have had pent up frustrations in the last few weeks after lockdown.

She added: Thats inevitable. Thats human instinct.

But she insisted Britons are sensible people.

Ms Patel said she has used her first year to empower and equip police officers, including making stop and search easier.

Although some campaigners claim the measures leave young black boys and men disproportionately targeted, Ms Patel insisted it is not a divisive tactic.

She said: Ive spent plenty of hours, too many sadly, with parents that have lost their children to street violence. The parents have said to me repeatedly we need more stop and search.

Officers have been actively using stop and search even during the COVID crisis over concerns about weapons on the streets, she said.

When it comes to saving lives, we should be unapologetic, Ms Patel added. If we are saving lives then these are the types of measures we should be using.

Ms Patel said tackling knife crime is a priority and told how machetes half my height are being pulled off the street.

We need to stop that, she said.

Hard cash is going into police forces in a targeted way to keep the public safe.

Crime is coming down, she said. We are serious about getting violent crime down.

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Brexit will unleash Britain's potential vows Patel as she hints at new immigration reform - Daily Express