A Texas politician attacks South Asian students

Bo French, Republican candidate for railroad commissioner, posted on X about South Asian students at a University of Texas football game, claiming they showed how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners.

“how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners”

The post assumes all brown people are foreign

Sidharth Ram, founder of the Indian American Advocacy Council, said French assumed every brown person in the picture was not American, which is concerning for a politician running for statewide office.

“He assumed every brown person in that picture is not American, which is scary because he is a politician running for statewide office”

Texas has over half a million Indian Americans

Texas has one of the largest concentrations of Indian Americans in the country, over half a million people according to Pew Research Center, making it a haven for South Asian immigrants.

Community members shocked by rising prejudice

Karthik Soora, a Houston-based entrepreneur and former state senate candidate, said he has never experienced online hate in real life but has seen a marked change in discourse toward vitriol and hatred over the past two years.

Influencers target Indian American communities

Online influencers have descended on Indian American communities like Frisco, a suburb of Dallas, training cameras on South Asians and warning about a desi takeover of Texas.

Social media incentives drive anti-Indian messaging

Ravi Kapur, founder of the South Asian television network Diya TV, said social media incentives help drive influencers to embrace anti-Indian messaging, as rage incites public engagement and makes them bigger figures online.

“You are inciting rage. You are inciting the public to engage on your post, and thus you become a bigger figure online.”

Some videos show mundane everyday activities

Some viral posts are completely banal, featuring Indian Americans walking peacefully around a Costco doing their shopping like anyone else.

Nativists find footing in electoral politics

Far-right nativists, broadly hostile to immigrant and minority groups, are increasingly finding a footing in electoral politics, as shown by French's candidacy for railroad commissioner.

GOP leaders split on French's candidacy

While outgoing Senator John Cornyn said he will not vote for French, the state's most prominent candidates like Governor Greg Abbott and Senate candidate Ken Paxton have not pulled their support.

H1B visas become a lightning rod issue

Parts of the right-wing coalition turned access to the H1B visa into a lightning rod, highlighting it as a pathway for Indians to immigrate. The late Charlie Kirk said America does not need more visas for people from India.

“America does not need more visas for people from India”

Why target a successful immigrant group?

Indian Americans are among the most successful diaspora groups in the United States, with high incomes, strong families, and disproportionate representation in elite professions like medicine and technology.

A Yale study finds white flight from Asian students

A two thousand twenty-four study by Yale immigration researcher Leah Boustan examined high-income suburban school districts in California between two thousand and two thousand sixteen, finding that as more Asian students arrived, white enrollment started to go down.

Asian arrival raises overall test scores

Boustan found that when Asian students arrive in high-income school districts, overall test scores go up, but white test scores do not. They just stay flat, suggesting this might drive white families to leave these districts.

“What we saw is that when Asian students arrive in one of these high-income school districts, overall test scores go up, but white test scores do not. They just stay flat”

Texas guarantees college entry for top students

For almost thirty years Texas has had a law guaranteeing entry to public colleges and universities to eligible students who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school class, setting up fierce competition between high-performing children of Indian American immigrants and other Texans.

Economic anxiety fuels scapegoating of Indians

Ashish Agrawal, founder and board chair of the Hindu American civic organization Disha, said economic woes may be leading to scapegoating of Indians, as people who lose jobs resent seeing others who do not look like them living comfortably.

Anti-Indian sentiment mirrors antisemitism

Suhag Shukla, executive director of the Hindu American Foundation, likened anti-Indian resentment to antisemitism, which targets Jews for being too successful, noting that Indian Americans are physically identifiable and have economic and educational success.

“For the most part, we're physically identifiable”

South Asian divisions complicate unified response

The Indian and broader South Asian community has many divisions, with a plurality Hindu but substantial minorities Muslim, Christian, and Sikh, making it difficult to respond to nativist hatred with a united voice.

Indian Americans plan pragmatic community outreach

Many Indian Americans propose responding to the far-right with pragmatism and good-faith community outreach, believing they can counter misunderstandings by getting more involved in civic life and presenting positive examples.

Community leaders push for political participation

Indian American leaders like Ashish Agrawal intend to boost Indian American voter turnout to pressure local politicians to take them seriously as a voter bloc, with the saying if you are not at the table, you are at the menu.

“If you're [not] at the table, you're at the menu”

Indian Americans see path forward through history

Suhag Shukla believes Indian Americans are walking the same path as many other minority groups before them, like Jews, Latinos, Chinese, and Italians, with a constitutional framework that empowers pluralism to grow and flourish.

“We have just as much a right to be here and consider America home and protect it in the way we think serves our greater good”