KOttayAM l sunday l may 24, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l city EDITION Don’s ‘apply from home country’ rule for green cards draws anger Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates on Saturday demanded that the Trump administration withdraw its new green card policy democrats call it Attack on legal immigration Will help curb illegal immigration: USCIS Democratic lawmakers vowed to pursue every avenue to fight against the new policy, which they said will make legal immigration to the US much more harder. They also highlighted it will separate families when a member has to leave the US to apply for green card from their home country, a process that in some cases could stretch on months or a year ■ ■ The earlier policy allowed foreigners to change from non-immigrant to immigrant by applying for “adjustment of status” from within the US The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said the new policy cuts the need to find and remove those who “slip into the shadows” and remain in the US illegally after being denied residency 6,00,000 people already in the U.S. who apply for green card each year CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Modi gets Trump’s invite for early visit Rubio hands over letter; unveils ‘America First’ visa plan Jayan t h Ja c o b @ New Delhi Net fuel rates up by I5/L after 3rd hike R ak e sh K u m ar @ New Delhi Prices of petrol and diesel went up by up to 91 paise per litre on Saturday, the third such hike in less than 10 days, raising the cumulative retail fuel rates across the country by nearly `5 a litre. In Delhi, petrol became costlier by 87 paise — from `98.64 to `99.51 per litre. Diesel rates jumped by 91 paise — from `91.58 to `92.49 a litre. Likewise, the cost of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) went up by `1 per kg, taking its retail cost in the Capital to `81.09 per kg. The latest hike comes amid disruption in global oil and gas supplies following the conflict in West Asia. Despite the hikes, fuel retailers continue to absorb significant losses. Amid long queues and reports of shortage at petrol pumps and some outlets running dry, Indian Oil said there was no overall shortage, adding fuel outage at certain retail outlets as “highly localised” and temporary. The IOL statement said the higher demand at certain outlets was driven by a seasonal rise in diesel consumption during the harvesting season. Express Read Major reshuffle of IAS officers in state T’Puram: In its first major reshuffle after assuming office, the UDF government has initiated a shake-up in bureaucratic strata transferring 15 IAS officers, including six district collectors. GST commissioner Patil Ajit Bhagwatrao has been appointed as secretary, Finance (Resources) Department. P4 Kelkar appointment as CM secy kicks up a row T’Puram: The UDF government’s appointment of Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar as secretary to Chief Minister V D Satheesan has kicked up a political row in the state, with opposition LDF and BJP openly lashing out against the move. P4 WITH THIS ISSUE America Made in Pakistan PLUS 12 P AGES In his first visit to India as US Secretary of State to shore up ties that have come under strain in recent times, Marco Rubio met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday and handed over an invitation from President Donald Trump for an early visit to the White House. He later described India as a “cornerstone” of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy and said an “America First” visa schedule prioritising business professionals will deepen economic ties with New Delhi. Rubio, who arrived in New Delhi after a stop in Kolkata earlier in the day, held wideranging discussions with Modi on bilateral ties, regional security and the Indo-Pacific ahead of the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting scheduled in Delhi on May 26. After the meeting, Modi said the two sides discussed “sustained progress” in the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership as well as regional and global security issues. “India and the United States will continue to work closely for the global good,” Modi said on X. Speaking at the inauguration of the new US Embassy Support Annex Building here, Rubio underlined India’s growing importance in Washington’s strategic calculations. “It is at the cornerstone of this important partnership between us and India, which, as I said, is an incredibly important one,” Rubio said. “It’s the reason why I’m here on this visit — to reaffirm those ties, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI We had a phenomenal meeting today with the Prime Minister. It’s a relationship we deeply care about. It’s a relationship that is growing Sergio Gor, US Ambassador At Mother House Earlier in the day, Morco Rubio visited the Mother House of Saint Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata before flying to Delhi build upon them. We think in the months ahead, we’re going to have even more exciting and new announcements to make about the development and strengthening of the relationship between the two countries.” The US Secretary of State also announced a new “America First” visa schedule designed to prioritise business professionals and strengthen commercial engagement between the two countries. “We’re introducing a new America First visa schedule that prioritises business professionals that strengthen these ties,” Rubio said, adding that the new embassy facility would help improve efficiency and support America’s diplomatic and security operations in India. Rubio also highlighted the personal chemistry between Modi and Trump. “You can just see the connection between them,” he said. Phogat wins the dangal at Delhi HC U D AYA N K I S H O R e @ New Delhi The Delhi High Court has allowed celebrated wrestler Vinesh Phogat to participate in the upcoming Asian Games 2026 selection trials to be held from May 30 to 31, saying motherhood cannot be treated as a professional impediment. A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia called Phogat “an internationally acclaimed athlete” and said she could not meet the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) “exclusionary” selection policy only because she was on maternity leave. “It is acknowledged that motherhood cannot be treated as a professional impediment or a circumstance warranting adverse treatment. A legal and regulatory framework that either expressly or impliedly disadvantages a woman on account of pregnancy or postpartum recovery would clearly violate the principles of non-discrimination enshrined in Articles 14 (right to equality) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution of India,” the division bench noted in its order on Friday The order was uploaded on . the court website on Saturday . The bench also slammed the “deplorable” show-cause notice issued to Phogat by WFI, in which the wrestling body said she had caused a “national embarrassment” by getting disqualified from the Paris Olympics for being overweight ahead of her gold-medal match. ‘Good morning’: Police stations to turn friendly with greet-first reform V arsha S o m ara j @ T’Puram Police stations should function as genuine public service centres where complaints are addressed impartially and resolved with sensitivity Ramesh Chennithala, Home Minister Station overhaul lOfficers told to greet visitors courteously lDrive to ensure cleanliness on station premises l DGP told to clear abandoned or seized vehicles from stn premises A courteous welcome note — greeting visitors with a polite ‘good morning’ or ‘namaskaram’ — would soon be the new face of policing in the state. A few days into his term, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala is pitching for a major facelift of the police force in the state. The minister has directed police officers to greet visitors courteously listen to their woes with , empathy and transform stations into peoplecentric public service spaces rather than intimidating state institutions. In what is being projected as a transformative people-friendly police reform, Chennithala on Saturday announced a wide-ranging overhaul of police stations across the state. In his first high-level meeting with top police officials after assuming charge, the home minister announced a total revamp of all 484 police stations — covering everything from behavioural changes and station cleanliness to structural reforms in station-level policing and administrative responsibilities. Chennithala said police stations should function as genuine public service centres where complaints are addressed impartially and resolved with sensitivity . Noting that visitors must be welcomed with a ‘good morning’ or ‘namaskaram’, he stressed that those entering stations should not be viewed as criminals by default, but as citizens entitled to dignity, fairness and re● More on P4 spectful treatment.