The Indian Panorama

Tag: IMPACT

  • Indian American IMPACT Fund celebrates Biden’s nomination of Richard Verma for Deputy Secretary of State

    Indian American IMPACT Fund celebrates Biden’s nomination of Richard Verma for Deputy Secretary of State

    WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): An Indian American body has welcomed the nomination of lawyer diplomat Richard Verma for Deputy Secretary of State, a top diplomatic position in the State Department.

    In December, the White House in a statement said that Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate 54-year-old Verma to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. If confirmed by the US Senate, Verma, also a former US ambassador to India, would be the highest-ranking Indian American in the State Department.

    “This nomination is yet another historic addition by President Biden in his campaign pledge to diversify the current administration,” Indian American Impact Fund said in a statement. Verma’s historic opportunity to join the State Department is the culmination of his long and illustrious career in public service.

    “We at Indian American Impact are thrilled to witness and potentially welcome the historic confirmation of yet another visionary South Asian leader,” said Neil Makhija, executive director of Indian American Impact Fund.

  • Indian American Organization IMPACT urges Biden to reform immigration laws, abolish green card caps

    Indian American Organization IMPACT urges Biden to reform immigration laws, abolish green card caps

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Indian American community organization IMPACT has urged President Joe Biden to reform US immigration laws by abolishing green card caps and quotas and including 200,000 children of long-term visa holders to protect all Dreamers.

    Neil Makhija, IMPACT Executive Director, raised the community’s concerns “about the urgent need to expand voting rights and fight for immigration reform” at a meeting with Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House last Thursday.

    Makhija, who met Biden and Harris alongside 13 Asian American civil rights leaders, noted it was the President and Vice President’s first in-person meeting with national South Asian and AAPI political leaders.

    The meeting, he said in a media release, “was a significant step towards recognizing Indian American and AAPI voices as we work towards building a multi-racial democracy that works for us all.”

    Makhija said he “discussed the importance of protecting the right to vote, a bedrock issue that affects every other policy impacting our community.”

    He urged the President to reform US immigration laws by abolishing green card caps and quotas and including 200,000 children of long-term visa holders in efforts to protect all Dreamers.

    The President, according to Makhija, “acknowledges that our communities are essential to the fabric of America, but our current laws undermine these values.”

    “As always, IMPACT remains committed to advocating for policies that advance our communities’ interests forward,” he said.

    Thanking Biden and Harris “for reaffirming their commitment to working alongside AAPI leaders to protect our communities,” Makhija said, IMPACT “looked forward to working with them to expand voting rights, reform our immigration policies, and combat anti-Asian hate.”

    According to a White House readout of the meeting Biden and Harris pledged to work with the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) community on immigration reform.

    They “restated their support for a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, farm workers, TPS (Temporary Protected Status) holders, and essential workers through budget reconciliation,” it said.

    “The conversation focused on the importance of combating the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, economic opportunity, commitment to equity, protecting the sacred right to vote, and immigration reform.”

    Biden and Harris reiterated their “promise to work together to ensure the needs of the diaspora of the AA & NHPI communities are heard, uplifted and met,” the White House said.

     

     

     

  • Indian American Committee IMPACT raises $10 million war chest for Indian American candidates

    Indian American Committee IMPACT raises $10 million war chest for Indian American candidates

    NEW YORK (TIP): IMPACT, the leading Indian American advocacy and political action committee, has raised a $10 million war chest to get Indian origin candidates including Kamala Harris, the first Indian American on a national ticket, and Joe Biden, elected.

    Raised in just three months, the funds will be spent to support turnout efforts in the Asian American and Indian American community and to elect IMPACT’s 2020 slate of candidates, as well as Indian American candidates running up and down ballots in states across the country.

    Besides the Democratic presidential ticket of Biden and Harris, the slate includes six candidates for the US House and 16 candidates for Statewide and local offices: seven for State Senates, Five for State Houses and four others.

    “IMPACT’s fundraising strength reflects trends we’re seeing across the country,” IMPACT Executive Director Neil Makhija, said Monday, October 19,  announcing the organization’s groundbreaking effort.

    “There’s a level of enthusiasm and excitement about this year’s election among Indian American voters that is palpable, and unrivaled in previous cycles,” he said.

    “With an Indian American on the presidential ticket for the first time in history, and a record number of Indian American candidates running for office, Indian American voters are poised to exert a considerable amount of influence in this year’s election, and IMPACT will help mobilize and harness this emerging power.”

    IMPACT said it will invest in the presidential, state-wide, and congressional races in battleground states across the country. Investments include committee contributions, paid advertising, targeted turnout operations, and infrastructure building.

    This groundbreaking investment comes at a time when Indian Americans — the second largest immigrant group in the US — are beginning to flex their political muscle on the national political stage, it said.

    In addition to an Indian American being a historic Democratic nominee for Vice President, the number of Indian Americans in Congress has grown five-fold in just the past eight years and the campaign arm charged with electing Democrats to Congress released its first-ever Hindi-language political ad earlier this year, it noted.

    All of these developments have come less than 75 years since South Asians began emigrating to the US, and 55 years after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which ended discriminatory quotas and opened the doors to Asian immigrants, IMPACT said.

    Besides four sitting members of US Congress — Ami Bera (California), Ro Khanna (California), Pramila Jayapal (Washington),  Raja Krishnamoorthi (Illinois) — Impact is backing two more, Sri Kulkarni (Texas), and Hiral Tipirneni (Arizona) for the US House.

    Seven State Senate candidates backed by IMPACT are: Sara Gideon (Maine), Jay Chaudhuri (North Carolina), Jeremy Cooney (New York), Kevin Thomas (New York), Rupande Mehta (New Jersey), Kesha Ram (Vermont), and Nikil Saval (Pennsylvania).

    Five candidates for State Houses are: Nima Kulkarni (Kentucky) Padma Kuppa (Michigan), Jennifer Rajkumar (New York), Amish Shah (Arizona), and Vandana Slatter (Washington).

    Impact is also backing  Nina Ahmad (Pennsylvania Auditor General), Ronnie Chatterji (North Carolina Treasurer), Pavan Parikh (Ohio Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas) and Ravi Sandill (Texas District Judge).