Kamal Ghorui
In a reaction to the 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne shooting two people and injuring 14 others in downtown Austin after US struck Iran, over 70 Texas Republicans have now signed a letter to Congress asking to stop all immigration, including that of H-1B, a specialty work visa, as “we must know who is in this country”. Diagne who opened fire outside a busy bar in Texas, was originally from Senegal and came to the US decades ago on a tourist visa. He wore a swetshirt with the world ‘Property of Allah’ written on it, making investigators believe that his shooting was prompted by the US strike on Iran. According to DHS, Diagne entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2000, became a lawful permanent resident by marrying a US citizen in 2006 and was naturalized in 2013. He did not have any connection with the H-1B but the Republican leaders included H-1Bs too in their letter at a time the ‘H-1B/Indian takeover of Texas’ has emerged as a major issue. The letter with four demands said the people of Texas are tired of watching Washington offer rhetoric instead of results. “More Americans will be killed if Congress continues to treat border security and immigration enforcement as political footballs. We do not send our representatives to Washington to tweet; we send them to govern,” the GOP leaders wrote.
Four demands of Texas GOP leaders
Fully fund the DHS: The GOP leaders demanded full, unencumbered funding for the DHS, as the department is the frontline of the nation. “Budgeratry obstruction and political gamesmanship that starves DHS of the resources it needs is not a negotiating tactic, it is a national security failure,” they wrote. Immediately freeze all H-1B visa issuance: All H-1B visa issuance should be stopped until a comprehensive audit of existing visa holders and their current status is completed. “We must know who is in this country, why they are here, and whether they pose any risk to national security,” the letter demanded. Pause all immigration: A pause on all immigration until the systems are capable of identifying, tracking and vetting individuals who enter the United States. Redirect resources toward identifying threats already within our borders: Concerted, wll-funded effort to cross-reference immigration records, law enforcement databases, and intelligence reports to identify individuals who pose a credible threat to American citizens.
