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‘Took me 17 years to naturalize’: Rep Jayapal on her immigrant journey
The Indian American Congresswoman said her journey was only possible because of the United States’ legal immigration system, one that Trump is actively dismantling.
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Pranavi Sharma - Tue, 15, Jul 2025
- 02:21 EDT
- 79
Rep. Pramila Jayapal / Getty Images
Rep. Pramila Jayapal has reflected on her long and arduous immigration journey, stating it took her 17 years to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. In a video posted on X, the Indian American lawmaker warned that the very legal immigration system that made her journey possible is now under threat. “I came to the United States on a student visa. I made my way through an alphabet soup of visas,” she said. “It took me 17 years to become a U.S. citizen. And I eventually ended up here as the first naturalized citizen to serve as ranking member of this subcommittee in Congress on immigration.”
She said her journey was only possible because of the United States’ legal immigration system — the same system, she added, that Trump is actively dismantling.
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