An Open Letter To Secretary Mayorkas
Washington Journalist Needs His Visa Renewed So He Can Report On You
Dear Secretary Mayorkas,
Rafael Bernal is a staff writer at The Hill covering Hispanic politics in Washington, D.C. Or at least he was until USCIS told him his biometric data (read: his latest fingerprints) are required to renew his visa.
The local USCIS field office processes the visa renewals for many Washington reporter reporters like Mr. Bernal who rely on your teams to take their fingerprints and barring irregularities, stamp their visa.
Mr. Bernal’s situation arises out of the feckless, irresponsible, and cruel policies of the administration that preceded you. Neither you nor President Biden is to blame for Rafael’s predicament, yet.
That changes with this letter, which we send to at least three dozen of Bernal’s colleagues on the White House beat. We hope Jen Psaki will be asked about Mr. Bernal’s visa situation this week in the briefing room. Sadly there aren’t enough Latinx correspondents in the briefing room to ask the question ourselves.
The pandemic complicates everything, of course, but any further delay in Bernal’s visa renewal at USCIS is unacceptable. Ask any career press official now working for you at DHS. They’ll not only vouch for Bernal but counsel you wisely, Mr. Secretary, to make this problem go away this week.
We hope this open letter finds you healthy and safe. No need to reply here, but USCIS needs to contact Bernal today to make this right.
Thanks in advance.
Sincerely,
The Editors
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Bob Cusack, Editor of The Hill
Angela Maria Kelley, Senior Immigration Counselor at DHS
Pili Tobar, Deputy Communications Director at the White House
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