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A flag is waved outside the White House in September 2017.Carolyn Kaster / AP file

6 Charged in 'Birth Tourism' Scheme that Cost U.S. Taxpayers Millions

Six people were charged in an elaborate “birth tourism” scheme that helped Turkish women secure U.S. citizenship for their children and cost American taxpayers upward of $2 million, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The alleged ringleaders, Sarah Kaplan and Ibrahim Aksakal, both residents of Long Island, New York, brazenly advertised their services on Turkish-language Facebook pages and websites with titles like “My baby should be born in America,” prosecutors said.

December 4, 2020
Published in Health

Image Credit: Image by Nerijus jakimavičius from Pixabay

Turkish Auto Supplier Is Establishing Its First U.S. Headquarters in Georgia

A manufacturer of automotive fluid circulation systems will establish its North American headquarters and a new manufacturing facility in Northwest Georgia, state officials announced. Teklas expects to invest $6.5 million in a vacant textile factory in Calhoun, Georgia, and create 120 new jobs. The Turkish company supplies components for heating and cooling systems — including metal, plastic, and rubber hoses and pipes — to automakers worldwide. The debut U.S. facility will join existing operations in Europe, China, and Mexico.

December 4, 2020
Published in How to Invest in the U.S.

Turkish businesswoman Derya Taşkın poses with U.S.-President elect Joe Biden at an event.

Businesswoman to be first Turkish Democrat Voting in US Electoral College

New Jersey businesswoman Derya Taşkın will be the first Turk representing the Democratic Party in the U.S. Electoral College, which will formally elect America's next president and vice president.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Taşkın said she has lived in the United States for about 25 years and has been actively working in various positions within the Democratic Party for a long time. The party board recognized her effort and selected her for the post, she said.

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House has officially started, three weeks after he was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

President Donald Trump still refuses to concede and has vowed to continue to fight in court after General Services Administrator Emily Murphy gave the green light Monday for Biden to coordinate with federal agencies ahead of his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump did, however, tweet that he was directing his team to cooperate on the transition.

Taşkın noted that Turkish people both from Republican and Democratic parties have taken significant steps in U.S. politics. She added that she does not think that Turkish-U.S. relations will deteriorate during Biden’s presidency.

“The two countries have a strong alliance and are NATO members. Biden knows how important NATO is. Biden had some statements in January, but it may be the result of some lobbies and our passivity. With our efforts, I believe we will change the ideas of Biden and his team to bring Turkish-American relations to a better level,” she said.

In an interview in January, Biden said that if he was elected president, his administration would pursue a policy of intervention against Turkey's elected government.

"What I think we should be doing is taking a very different approach to (President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) now, making it clear that we support opposition leadership," said Biden.

He added, suggesting an ultimatum: "He (Erdoğan) has to pay a price. He has to pay a price for whether or not we're going to continue to sell certain weapons to him."

Biden’s statements were met with stark criticism from both ruling and opposition parties.

November 25, 2020
Published in Women

Kosoglu to Work at the White House!

Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris today announced 3 new White House senior staff who will work on her team. The wife of Turkish-American Ozkan Sedat Kosoglu was Sri Lankan-born Rohini Kosoglu will be working for Kamala Harris as Senior Advisor for Domestic Policy

"Serving as my Domestic Policy Advisor will be Rohini Kosoglu, who is not only an expert on some of the most important issues facing the American people, but also one of my closest and most trusted aides from the Senate and presidential campaign,” said Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

Turkish-American, Ozkan Sedat Kosoglu ,the wife of Rohini Kosoglu, a software engineer at TransitScreen.He has a MS-Computer Science from Georgia Institute of Technology.He is from Vize, Kırklareli.

The Couple married on June 25th, 2011 and have three sons.

***Turk of America congratulates Rohini Kosoglu for her new position at White House.We wish her lots of success and happiness in your new job.

Rohini Kosoglu, Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President

Rohini Kosoglu currently serves as Senior Advisor to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on the Biden-Harris Transition Team and previously served as Senior Advisor on the Biden-Harris Campaign. Before that, she was a Spring 2020 resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Kosoglu has a dedicated career in public service and was the first South Asian American woman to serve as Chief of Staff in the United States Senate. She served as Vice-President Elect Harris’ Chief of Staff for her Senate office and later for her presidential campaign. Before that, she was Policy Director for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado, where she oversaw economic, health care and budget issues. She has negotiated several bipartisan bills into law and served as a senior health care advisor during the drafting and passage of the Affordable Care Act. She also previously served as a legislative aide to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. Originally from New Jersey, Kosoglu is a graduate of the University of Michigan and George Washington University and is a mother to three young children.