Krishnamoorthi urges Indian American community to participate in US political system and help shape its direction
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi was elected to Congress in 2016 and is now in his fourth term representing Illinois’ 8th District, which includes Chicago’s west and northwest suburbs. He serves as Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, making him the first South Asian American in history to lead a Congressional Committee.
Congressman Krishnamoorthi also has various accolades to his name and was recently presented with the Dalip Singh Saund Award for political leadership in recognition of his exemplary commitment to advancing the interests of Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities in Congress.
Dr Avi Verma, Publisher, IndoUS Tribune, along with senior journalist and board member, Vandana Jhingan, met with Congressman Krishnamoorthi to discuss various aspects of his life in the world of politics.
Talking about his journey from India to US politics, Rep. Krishnamoorthi emphasized that his personal compass is to return favors to the US that has conferred blessings on him and his family.
“I came to this country when I was three months old, to Buffalo, New York, where my father was studying engineering. And things were going well, until suddenly, he lost his income in the recession of 1973. But thanks to the generosity of the American people, we were allowed to move into public housing and food stamps. So I spent about half of my early childhood in those two programs. And thanks to the American people, my father was able to complete his studies, and then get an excellent job of all places, Peoria, Illinois, so we moved to Peoria. That’s where we entered the middle class. And every night at the dinner table, my father would say to me and my brother, think of the greatness of this country and whatever the two of you do, just make sure this country is there for the next families who need it,” said Rep. Krishnamoorthi.
He added, “Over time, I recognized that my mission in life is to return the favor to this country by enabling others to enjoy the same blessings in their lives that were given to us.”
Rep. Krishnamoorthi, also spoke about the Indian Americans’ political participation in the US. He urged more people from the community to enter public service to serve the community better.
“I think that we need more people in our community to enter public service, to commit themselves to at least a season of public service, if not a lifetime, or a career in this. I think that our community has really arrived in so many different respects. They are well educated, financially established and are embarking on successful careers in business, engineering, finance, medicine and journalism. However, I feel that less people choose public service and serving in government as a career. So regardless of whether they’re Republicans or Democrats or Independents, I think more Indian Americans need to consider how they can be of service to the community as a whole”.
In order to seamlessly blend in the US life and the political system, the Congressman suggested the Indian American community vote more, work on political causes, and run for office to participate in the US system and help shape its direction.
“I think that the number of people who vote as Indian Americans is far less as a percentage of the community than compared to some other communities in this country. And so we need to increase the number of people who vote because that’s the primary way to participate in the political process.”
He added, “We need increasing numbers of Indian Americans to work on political causes and lastly, I would request people to run for office. And that might mean, running for school board or running for State House or State Senate, maybe even running for Congress.”
When asked about the need of immigration reform and a better system to facilitate seamless migration opportunities, Congressman Krishnamoorthi said, “Sadly it is a horrible situation where unfortunately the wait for people who want to become permanent residents and the United States is way too long. If you take an H1 B worker, for instance, who’s come to this country today, if they were to land from India today at O’Hare and come to Schomburg, it would take them by some estimates 100 years to become a green card holder. And that is just completely unacceptable. No individual in their right mind who wants to eventually immigrate to this country wants to wait for anything close to that. And so what we have to do is we have to reform the system, we have to take up my legislation to end the caps with regard to the per country quotas. And we also have to remember that our immigration system is the number one competitive advantage for this country over others. This is majorly so because we want to retain and attract the best, brightest and the most hardworking people from around the world. And if we don’t, we are going to lose an edge, especially with regard to certain other countries.”
As an immigrant who had to pave his way through a lot of challenges in the formative years of his life, Rep. Krishnamoorthi emphasized fighting discrimination and prejudice, and promoting equality and justice for all.
“I think that first of all, discrimination and prejudice of any kind is wrong. And we have to stand as a community, shoulder to shoulder locking arms with anybody who faces discrimination prejudice or hatred of any kind. As we continue to assimilate into this country, as we continue to ascend, leadership rungs, I think we will slowly realize our full potential, and we will also be in a position to do even more, to live up to our ideals as a country, a country that believes in equality, a country that believes in justice, and a country that believes in opportunity for everybody. That is why you came to this country. My parents and my family came to this country, and that’s what we want everybody to enjoy.”
