Alyson Ball spoke at the March 2021 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia about the basics of United States Immigration policy. Ms. Ball began with a brief history of US immigration from a time when all immigrants were accepted and it was easy to become a citizen, to the 14th amendment following the Civil War where being born “on soil” eventually leading, to citizenship to the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act.
According to Ball, there are currently about one million individuals seeking a pathway to United States citizenship. Of that group, three-fourths are family based, 140,000 are employment based and 130,000 are humanitarian. Other topics covered include: Detention centers and the Biden government’s recent role in reversing some of former President Trump’s immigration policies.
Ms. Ball spoke at the Wednesday March 10, 2021 meeting of the Senior Statesmen of Virginia. The meeting was held on Zoom. Following the presentation, questions were taken from the audience. The program was moderated by SSV board member Peyton Williams.