'I will support legislation to help legal immigrants on the path to citizenship,' says US Congressman elect Suhas Subramanyam

After winning the election for the Virginia District 10 seat, with a comfortable margin, Suhas Subramanyam , 38, is set to become the first Indian American in the US House of Representatives from his state, when he is sworn-in on January 3, 2025. He also becomes the sixth member of the ‘Samosa Caucus;’ the informal name for the group of Indian American law makers – though personally he is more of an alu-gobi person, preferring a healthy comfort recipe to the deep fried ubiquitous Indian snack. The US Representative-elect spoke to Times of India’s Ishani Duttagupta on a host of issues including comprehensive immigration reforms that could end green card backlogs for Indians and working across the aisle to help mitigate the deep divide between Democrats and Republicans, stemming from the divisive presidential campaigns. Edited excerpts from the interview.

In the past years, several legislations addressing immigration reform have failed in the US Senate and the House of Representatives. Many had provisions that would address the problems faced by Indians stuck on long green card queues. Would you be supporting any new Bill in Congress that addresses these issues?

I want to support legislation that will help legal immigrants here on the path to citizenship. A lot of people who come here, on H-1B visas especially, work in high demand fields like technology. They pay their taxes and contribute to our economy and then they are simply left behind and not given a path to citizenship. Many of them have complained to me that it’s easier to come into the US illegally and stay than to come legally. So I do want to make sure that we are talking about comprehensive immigration reform and we are talking about deportations and border security and we don’t forget people who have been so integral to our country and to our community here in Virginia.

There are a lot of concerns in India over the possibility of tougher immigration rules under President Elect Donald Trump . Do you think there are grounds for such concerns?

I think that the US-India relationship is a bipartisan effort in the sense of the US and India working together long term. It doesn’t matter who is the President here or leader there. I am going to be a champion for that relationship and I think that the Trump administration seems to be supportive of strengthening the US-India relationship as well. But I think that the thing to be concerned about is that this Presidency can and will be very unpredictable. President Trump has been very unpredictable in office as well as out of office and so we have to see how that translates to the US-India relationship. But there are other issues that I am concerned about with respect to the Trump Presidency – namely the environment and making sure we are producing clean renewable and energy and protecting our planet from climate change. I’m not sure what Trump’s foreign policy will be. He ran on a platform of no new wars and ending the current wars; I’m curious to see how he is going to do that. But I’m going to keep an open mind because I promised my constituents that I’ll work with everyone including the Republicans.

Are you in touch with the other Indian Americans in the House of Representatives – the Samosa Caucus?

Yes, the other Indian Americans in Congress have reached out to me. They have supported me and gave me great advice. Though I’m actually more of an ‘alu gobi’ and ‘bhel’ person; I’m happy with the Samosa Caucus and I want to continue its growth. I hope that our shared experiences will encourage others of Indian origin as well. When I worked on Capitol Hill, there were no members of Indian origin in Congress and it was very rare to even see an Indian American staff member like me. But we have come a long way it seems and it would be great to see more Indian Americans elected.

You were technology advisor to President Barack Obama and you will now represent a district which is known as a tech hub; would you be participating in legislations and policy discussions on technology in the House of Representatives?

Absolutely! I think tech policy is one of the issues that can be bipartisan and we’re going to have to address it. It’s a critical moment for tech policy and we need people who understand what they are doing from a business perspective and from a technology perspective when it comes to regulating these tools. Whether it is AI or block chain or cyber security, I want to make sure that my district has a voice in shaping technology policy so that we can promote innovation and regulate the bad behaviours.

You have often spoken about your Indian American immigrant background, during your campaign – did you have many team members and aides of Indian origin?

A lot of young Indian Americans reached out to my campaign to get involved. We especially liked younger people from high school and college getting engaged. It is good to get exposed to policy early on to help them get a sense of service in their mind. Many of them go on to volunteer or serve in different capacities. You don’t always have to run for office. I like to impart upon young people involved in our campaign that service is so important and you can do it in so many different ways. I made it a point to make sure that young people got involved in our campaign. And many of those young people were Indian American because of my candidacy.

After winning the election, you have pledged to work across the aisle. In view of the deep divide during the election campaign, do you feel that Democrat and Republican members of the House of Representatives will be able to resolve their differences and work together?

I’ve always thought that we are stronger when we are united as a country and I want to make sure that I deliver to my constituents. That is only going to happen by working with the Republicans. But I’m going to do everything I can to protect our economy here in Virginia; to protect the community and deliver to my constituents. I’m not going to be silent on things on which I disagree such as protecting federal workers in the Washington DC area, that includes my district in Virginia. That’s going to be critical and it’s something for which I’m going to fight. I’m not going to let them fire thousands of federal workers and replace them with their people and Trump loyalists. But generally I’m going to keep an open mind, work across the aisle and deliver to my constituency.

As you move to Congress, your district in Virginia will have elections for the position of state senator that you have vacated, and there are a couple of names of Indian Americans who will be running. Would you be endorsing any of the candidates?

I have endorsed State Delegate Kannan Srinivasan for the Democratic nomination for the state senate seat that I will be leaving when I join the House of Representatives. But that’s not because he is Indian but because he is going to make a great legislator and do really great things in the state senate. In the past, it used to be hard to find Indian Americans running for state and federal elections; but now there are many who want to step up. Some of them have told me that it is because of my success as the first Indian American in the House of Representatives, from my state, that they felt encouraged to run; they saw that someone like them could win. That is one of the impacts of winning and I’m happy to pave the way for others. I certainly don’t want to be the last Indian American in Congress from Virginia