- It must warm the cockles of every Indian around the globe, especially those immigrants who have made homes away from home while reading the subject sentence and reminiscing how they went about carving a niche for themselves on unknown shores. Of course, since times immemorial, humanity has found a way to traverse the universe in search of greener pastures overcoming monumental challenges. One of the most profound means adopted by humanity is to remain adventurous despite knowing the chosen path to leave familiar shores for unchartered territories are always filled with diverse challenges. As modernity set in, scores of Indian immigrants made their way to the most promising land i.e. the United States of America in droves, and Indians too.
PC: Desh Vides
- The USA is a melting pot made up of immigrants from around the world. This nation of different nationalities has become the most powerful in the present times courtesy of contributions from people from all walks of life. The contributions of immigrant Indians are humongous as well. However, nativists in the USA apparently cannot digest the success of Indians leading to uncomfortable situations for the diligently hard-working lot. For the uninitiated, from a curiosity in 1958, when they numbered 12,000, Indians have risen to prominence in America. While they still make up hardly 1.5% of the US population, they’ve got CEOs, scientists, astronauts, opinion makers, and legislators among their number, and the highest median income of any ethnic group.
PC: BBC
- And the first Hindu second lady too. It can be a bit much for white nativists who make up Trump’s MAGA crowd. Thus, prominent Trump backer Laura Loomer began Christmas with a tweet about third-world invaders from India, and the shouting match continues into the new year. Notably, both Trump and Musk have weighed in for quality immigration, declaring support for H1-B visas that let in talented programmers and other white-collar workers. Musk described H1-B as a magnet to draw the top 0.1% of engineering talent and threatened he would go to war to defend it. Since then, Musk has backed a bit on the threat too bowing to domestic pressures. Of course, Musk and other tech giants have a point.
PC: Business Standard
- With a total of 85,000 visas under different categories in a year, H1-B is not about to change American demographics. However, some nativists want all foreign-looking people to go, and history shows such sentiments can turn ugly, especially when many native-born Americans are not doing well. The Union Government must step in amid rising MAGA hostility towards Indians. Pew data shows Indias was the third largest nationality among illegal residents in America in 2022, so a crackdown on illegal immigration via donkey routes is long overdue. GOI should lobby powerful non-Indians in the ensuing Trump administration to counter MAGA groupthink. Mind you, the USA is the biggest source of India’s $120bn in remittances last year. This should keep GOI interested.
