Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal had to explain her immigrant status in the United States when she was asked about her citizenship by a caller on a television show on May 10.
Jayapal explained to the caller on the morning daily call-in show, C-SPAN Washington Journal, that one has to be an American citizen to serve in the Congress. She then told the caller about her history as an immigrant.
“I am a proud U.S. citizen. I became a citizen in 2000. I’ve actually lived in this country for… since I was 16 years old, and I’m not going to tell my age, but I can assure you, it’s a very long time,” Jayapal said, adding that she is married to a U.S. citizen and has a child who is also an American citizen.
The 52-year-old Democrat was born in India, and is the first Indian American woman to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is the first female congresswoman from Washington’s 7th congressional district, and also the first Asian American to represent Washington in Congress.
Jayapal recalled that she went to the United States on a student visa and that it took her 17 years to become a citizen.
Saying that she has worked in immigration for 15 years, Jayapal added that the immigration laws have not been adjusted for decades because it’s “complicated” and it keeps getting “tossed back and forth.” She said: “There are many pieces in the visa system that include the employment visa, the family reunification visa and the legalization of the undocumented immigrants.”
On @CSPANwj, speaking as the first Indian-American woman in the House, a caller asked, "Is the Congresswoman herself a U.S. citizen?"
I am a proud immigrant and American citizen. And I am proud to fight as an elected official for Dreamers and comprehensive immigration reform. pic.twitter.com/QmzTYkLiD5
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) May 10, 2018
She talked about her own experience as an immigrant and called for a fix to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the entire visa and immigration system, which she said was broken.
Before joining politics, Jayapal was a Seattle-based activist. She has raised about $1.4 million this election cycle. She has been supported by actress Jane Fonda and famous feminist scholar Gloria Steinem, besides poet Joan Aleshire, and anti-war activist and CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin, according to Seattle Patch.com.
Jayapal has been a fierce critic of U.S. President Donald Trump. She skipped Trump’s inauguration in November 2016, and his State of the Union address in January this year, to protest against racism and sexism by the White House.