Media

The U.S. District Court in South Carolina dismissed a challenge to the Navigable Waters Protection Rule written during the Trump administration and granted a remand without vacatur, ensuring the rule remains in effect until the Biden administration finalizes a new rule. Agricultural groups are engaged in litigation across the country to defend the NWPR and are pleased with this key legal victory, yet recognize more work remains as the new administration forges ahead on making its own mark on regulating water. 

Maria Theresa Louis came to America from India in 2007, when she was just four years old — and she has spent much of the past 14 years worrying about the day she will be forced to leave her family and “self-deport” back to her birth country.

Maria isn’t an undocumented immigrant. Her parents brought her to North Carolina lawfully using an H-4 dependent’s visa, which allowed her to accompany them while her father worked in the Triangle on an H-1B “skilled worker” visa.

University of Iowa student Pareen Mhatre has lived in the United States since she was 4 months old, arriving on her father's dependent student visa.

And that has clouded the two decades since for Mhatre. Her life has been spent wondering how long she will be able to legally remain in the only country she has ever known.

Two things happened this spring that provided encouragement for Mhatre and the estimated 200,000 "documented Dreamers" living in America. That is the term given to children of long-term visa holders.

In a time of deep partisanship, clean water should be an obvious policy area where lawmakers can collaborate. It is crucial to the lifeblood of our country and ensuring its accessibility is critical to protecting American families.

Clean water is a national priority and clean water protections are not contrary to economic development. These efforts don’t have to punish those who live, work, and play throughout rural America.