US firms face 'anti-Indian racism' as Trump tightens work visa rules: Report

The US has been witnessing a surge of “anti-Indian racism” with several American companies being targeted for replacing American workers with Indians. The companies include FedEx, Walmart, Verizon and Dish Network. The development comes at a time when the US President Donald Trump has been tightening H-1B visa rules and has imposed a fee of $100,000.

Allegations against FedEx CEO

According to a report in the Financial Times, the social media attack started after a video of a mangled FedEx lorry circulated on X ahead of Christmas, with several critics blaming the Indian origin of the company’s CEO, Raj Subramaniam, for the accident.

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The FedEx CEO have been accused of “laying off white American workers” and replacing them with Indian workers. The accusations, although denied by the company, have been amplified by right-wing commentators, including Andrew Torba, founder of social media platform Gab.

FedEx denies allegations

“For more than 50 years, FedEx has fostered a merit-based culture that creates opportunity for everyone,” stated FedEx.

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“We take great pride that this has resulted in a workforce that represents the diversity of the more than 220 countries and territories we serve,” it added, as quoted by the Financial Times.

The report further stated that the social media landscape in the US is witnessing posts alleging “Indian takeover of our great American companies.”

‘Coordinated campaigns’

According to the non-profit Centre for the Study of Organised Hate, there have been “coordinated campaigns” to harass Indian American entrepreneurs who have been granted loans from the US Government agency Small Business Administration.

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The hostility is part of a “spike in discrimination and harassment in the US portraying Indians as job stealers and visa scammers,” said the Centre’s executive director Raqib Naik.

Threats of violence against people of South Asian origin rose by 12 per cent in the year ending November, according to an analysis by advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate and counterterrorism firm Moonshot. The study also found a sharp spike of 69 per cent in the online use of slurs targeting South Asians, stated the report.

‘Surge in Indian immigration to US’

The rise has coincided with a surge in Indian immigration to the United States, as American companies increasingly recruit software developers, engineers, doctors and researchers from India to address shortages in the domestic workforce.

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Indian nationals account for 71 per cent of H-1B visas issued to skilled foreign workers, placing them at the centre of the debate as the White House moves to restrict applications through a proposed $100,000 fee.

The backdrop

The Department of Homeland Security has said it will begin giving priority to H-1B applications from the highest-paid workers from February, a step it says is aimed at “better protecting American workers."

Several of the US’s most prominent corporate leaders have risen through the H-1B visa programme and are of Indian origin, including Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and Microsoft head Satya Nadella. However, the visibility of Indian executives has done little to stem the continuing flow of anti-Indian rhetoric.