IANS
President Donald Trump dramatically welcomed an Indian software developer to “the great American family of citizens” at a White House ceremony.
The move was aimed to show his support for legal immigration. The ceremony was featured at the Republican National Convention.
Trump introduced Sundari Narayanan as “a talented software developer” who is a “phenomenal success” after she was sworn-in as a citizen on Tuesday.
Trump said that Narayanan had been in the United States for 13 years and she and her husband have “two beautiful, wonderful children.”
Turning to her, he asked: “They are the apple of your life, right?”
She nodded, “Yes.”
Clad in a bright pink sari with bright gold border, she added a dash of color to the ceremony in which Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf administered the oath of office to her and to four others, including a hijab-wearing veterinarian from Sudan.
The others were from Bolivia, Lebanon and Ghana.
The President was using the ceremony to emphasize his support for legal immigration.
“You followed the rules, you obeyed the laws, you learned your history, embraced our values and proved yourselves to be men and women of the highest integrity,” he said underlining their coming to the US legally and following the rules for getting citizenship.
He said that they followed the laws although it was not easy and they went through a lot to get the citizenship, the “priceless possession in the world.”
Later in the convention session, another immigrant took the stage to praise Trump and ask for to re-elect him.
That was Trump’s wife Melania, who immigrated from Slovenia.
She said that she had studied for the citizenship test and became a citizen through “hard work and determination.”
Trump has temporarily stopped the granting of green cards and H-1B professional work visas, most of which go to India.
He has, however, proposed a reform of immigration to make it merit-based and to break the long waits for it, and changing the way the H-1B visas are granted.
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