Chicago – March 07, 2025
The past few months have been uncomfortable for Indian nationalists and the BJP, who had high hopes for Trump’s return to the White House. During his campaign, Trump praised Indian talent and promised significant roles for Indian Americans in his administration. He even vowed to collaborate with Modi’s India to make the US and India a powerful partnership.
However, Trump’s return has exposed a troubling anti-BJP and anti-Modi sentiment among his supporters.
In late December, a “civil war” erupted within the MAGA-verse, with Indian Americans caught in the middle. The catalyst was Trump’s appointment of Indian-American venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as a senior policy adviser on Artificial Intelligence (AI). This came at a time when MAGA figures were already debating the H1B visa program, which they argue lets foreign workers, predominantly from India, take jobs that could go to Americans.
Recently, Trump’s supporters have escalated their attacks, not just on policies but on individuals with links to the BJP, mocking their backgrounds and using offensive language. The Trump administration has also intensified efforts to challenge what it describes as illegal preferences for foreign workers, claiming that such policies harm American job prospects.
Central to this controversy is the H-1B visa program, which critics, especially within Trump’s base, argue allows foreign professionals, mostly Indians (around 1 million), to fill roles that US workers could take. On February 19, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a stern warning to businesses against favouring foreign workers over American candidates.
Indian professionals are the primary beneficiaries of the H-1B program, receiving 72.3% of all visas between October 2022 and September 2023, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). A shift in policy could severely impact their opportunities in the US.
Indian journalist Palki Sharma highlighted this issue, noting that Trump supporters have been relentless in criticizing the BJP and Modi sympathizers online. This criticism ramped up after Trump appointed Sriram Krishnan as his AI advisor. Krishnan, a supporter of Modi and the BJP, became a target of harsh mockery and insults from Trump’s followers. What’s more concerning is that Trump has never defended Krishnan against these attacks, showing a lack of leadership and signaling a deeper disdain for the BJP and Modi’s agenda.
These developments reveal a broader issue within American politics, one that Trump will have to confront if he hopes to continue appealing to Indian American communities and avoid alienating them.
