{"id":289371,"date":"2026-05-12T10:31:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/289371\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:31:22","slug":"texas-gop-push-for-indian-voters-runs-into-anti-immigrant-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/289371\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas GOP push for Indian voters runs into anti-immigrant agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy<\/a>, and give us feedback<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FRISCO \u2014 Burt Thakur is a U.S. citizen, a Navy veteran and a Trump supporter. Last year, he was elected to be a strong conservative voice on the City Council in the booming Dallas suburb of Frisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lately, that job has required Thakur, who was born in New Delhi, to sit on the dais at Frisco City Hall and listen as a steady stream of people hurl racist invective at him and the entire Indian community. The speakers, many of whom don\u2019t live in Frisco, rail against invaders, anchor babies, H-1B visa fraud and the \u201cIndian takeover\u201d of a city where nearly one in five residents are Indian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dylan Law, a McKinney resident who grew up in Frisco, told the council in early February that the city was falling to \u201cunchosen, unwanted and uninvited forces.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBe America First,\u201d Law implored the council, to audience cheers. \u201cAnd to those who abuse the system my people built, go home before you are sent back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the last few months, Frisco has become the unwilling backdrop for a larger conflict between Republicans\u2019 nascent relationship with Indian American voters, and the party\u2019s rising nativist strain, which rejects anyone not born here, including naturalized citizens. The same faction that\u2019s been targeting Muslims over the specter of Sharia law has turned its hostility toward Texas\u2019 growing Indian community, accusing them of exploiting the H-1B visa program to steal American jobs and undercut wages.<\/p>\n

\"\"Burt Thakur, who represents Place 2 on the Frisco City Council, at City Hall on April 21, 2026. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

\"\"Frisco, like other Dallas suburbs, has seen a boom in its population. As of last year, about 19% of Frisco residents were Indian, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

For some conservatives, Frisco\u2019s changing face is proof that President Donald Trump\u2019s America First agenda must be taken to what they see as its natural conclusion: cutting off immigration to the U.S. en masse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got communities like Frisco that have been totally transformed, whether it\u2019s Islamic immigration or immigration from anywhere else in Asia,\u201d Rep. Brandon Gill<\/a>, a Republican who represents parts of Frisco, told conservative YouTuber Benny Johnson<\/a>. \u201cIf you go to some of these areas, you feel like you\u2019re in a foreign country, and that\u2019s a problem. America is for our people. We have a distinct heritage \u2026 and that\u2019s something we as conservatives should seek to actually conserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gill and other members of Texas\u2019 congressional delegation have called for a freeze<\/a> on all legal immigration, citing concerns with the H-1B visa program, which is primarily used by high-skill Indian immigrants. Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a>, following Trump\u2019s lead, restricted H-1B visas<\/a> for state workers, a move he promoted<\/a> on social media to push back against complaints about H-1B visas in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many testifying at Frisco City Council meetings or posting about the city on social media go far beyond asking for immigration reform. There\u2019s been a surge in anti-Indian racism<\/a> on social media since Trump returned to the White House, framing legal immigrants as \u201cjob stealers\u201d and \u201cinvaders.\u201d A clip of Boy Scouts leading the Pledge of Allegiance before a Frisco City Council meeting went viral, attracting thousands of reposts, many with hateful language, because the boys were Indian.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go after Boy Scouts, 10-year-old kids doing literally the most American thing ever, how can you also say the issue is assimilation?\u201d Thakur asked. \u201cThis parsing, this segmenting of populations by identity politics, is the worst kind of politics there is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conservative YouTubers have descended on Frisco, making documentaries purporting to show widespread H-1B visa fraud, content Texas\u2019 elected leaders have amplified. Gill has gone further, criticizing Hindu events as \u201cThird World religious ceremonies<\/a>\u201d and saying multiculturalism will \u201ctear our country apart.<\/a>\u201d He did not respond to emailed questions or an interview request.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"U.S.U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill and his family, including wife Danielle D\u2019Souza Gill, pose with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson in the Rayburn Room of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. during the opening of the 119th Congress in 2025. D\u2019Souza Gill is the daughter of right-wing commentator Dinesh D\u2019Souza. Aaron Schwartz \u2013 CNP\/Sipa USA via Reuters<\/p>\n

Gill is married to the daughter of right-wing commentator and staunch Trump defender Dinesh D\u2019Souza, who is Indian. In October, when D\u2019Souza attracted a flurry of anti-Indian hate on a social media post supporting the president, he said he\u2019d never encountered this type of rhetoric over his 40-year career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Right never used to talk like this,\u201d he said on social media<\/a>. \u201cSo who on our side has legitimized this type of vile degradation? It\u2019s a question worth thinking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new group of GOP voters<\/p>\n

Twenty five years ago, Frisco was farmland and 35,000 people, almost all of whom were white. Like the rest of the Dallas suburbs, its population has exploded, hitting almost 250,000 residents last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city has become a major hub for the Indian community, especially after a prominent Hindu cleric blessed a tract of land for a new temple in 2008. As of last year, about 19% of residents were Indian, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates \u2014 the highest concentration of any city in Texas<\/a> and 10 times higher than Indians\u2019 national representation of less than 2%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vijay Karthik is one of those transplants. He and his wife, Kelly, had been living in Chicago, but when they were looking for somewhere more family-friendly to raise their kids, they were drawn to Frisco for the exemplary schools, plentiful housing and good jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Born in India, Karthik came to the U.S. on an H-1B visa in 1995, a few years after the pathway for highly skilled immigrants was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. Karthik never planned to stay in the U.S. after this stint, but tech companies cashing in on the dot com boom convinced him to return. He became a citizen, rose to C-suite roles at major companies and co-invented the technology behind in-flight Wi-Fi.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like most Indians, Karthik identified as a Democrat. South Asians have long been the party\u2019s most reliable supporters among all Asian ethnic groups, motivated in part by a sense that the Republican Party\u2019s anti-immigration stances are not welcoming.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s been shifting. A 2024 survey<\/a> found Indians have been leaving the Democratic Party; their party allegiance dropped by close to 10 points since 2020. While Indian voters remain overwhelmingly left-leaning, one in three Indians planned to vote for Trump in 2024, driven largely by young men born in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Vijay Karthik, a candidate for City Council Place 5, outside a coffee shop in Frisco. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

While there isn\u2019t reliable state-level data, Karthick Ramakrishnan, a political researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, said Indian voters in red states tend to lean more conservative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump lost the Indian American vote in 2020 and 2024, but he did gain support, and I imagine states like Texas were helping drive that,\u201d said Ramakrishnan, who runs AAPI Data, a research and polling group that focuses on Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Karthik, moving to Frisco prompted a political reckoning. The more he learned about the Republican Party that dominated the area, the more he felt a connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur culture is very conservative,\u201d he said. \u201cFiscally, heavily conservative, and culturally, we focus on education, family values, small businesses, less government. I think a lot of Indians are waking up to this, realizing we\u2019re conservative too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans have been working to win over Indian Americans, who are wealthier and more highly educated than the average American, and very politically engaged. In 2021, the Republican National Committee opened community centers<\/a> in purple areas around the country, hoping to shore up relationships outside the party\u2019s typical white, Christian voters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The center in Coppell, a Dallas suburb, was christened with a Diwali ceremony. Abraham George, now chair of the Texas GOP, attended the opening and celebrated the party\u2019s impending inroads with diverse communities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RNC has recognized that they need to bring minority communities together and build communities out, so they will be on our team for the next election,\u201d said George, who later became the first Indian to lead the Texas GOP. \u201cWe will see a great turnout from every minority community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Abraham George, the newly elected Texas Republican Party chair, celebrates his win during the Texas GOP Convention on May 24, 2024, in San Antonio. Eli Hartman\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

In 2024, Abbott led a delegation to India, coordinated by a major donor, Arun Agarwal. During the nine-day trip, Abbott touted the $18 billion trade relationship between India and Texas and the \u201cenduring bond forged by our hardworking, resilient peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later that year, he hosted a Diwali celebration<\/a> at the Governor\u2019s Mansion, where he addressed a crowd of Indian community leaders and donors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I am governor of this great state, Texas will be a land for the Indian community,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Republicans and \u201cthe Indian issue\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, Sreekanth Reddy worked with the Collin County GOP to hang Trump\/Vance campaign signs in Hindi, Telugu, Gujarati and Tamil all over the county, part of the party\u2019s outreach to the growing contingent of Indian voters north of Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just two years later, he was at Frisco City Council, fighting against the rising tide of anti-Indian rhetoric that had swept through the city and his party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sporting a cowboy hat, Reddy described himself as a \u201claw-abiding, taxpaying, conservative Republican American,\u201d who is \u201cas patriotic as anyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat exactly is the issue here?\u201d he asked. \u201cIf this is about immigrant Indians moving into Frisco legally, who are opening businesses, running them successfully, contributing to the economy of Frisco and following the law, then I honestly do not see this as a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

But many do. The H-1B visa program, created by Republicans and defended by corporations, has become a new target on the right, with some extending the criticisms to Indians who are here through other pathways<\/a> or are naturalized citizens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In January, Abbott froze all new H-1B visa applications<\/a> for public universities and state agencies, saying \u201cthe program has too often been used to fill jobs that otherwise could \u2014 and should \u2014 have been filled by Texans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said Texas \u201ccannot allow a program intended only to supplement the American workforce to be exploited to displace qualified U.S. workers or suppress wages.\u201d He did not respond to a question about rising anti-Indian rhetoric in the party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople gather at Swadeshi Plaza, an Indian grocery store and restaurant in Frisco. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

\"\"The Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple in Frisco is a cultural and religious center for the Hindu community. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

More recently, conservative content creators have claimed to have uncovered widespread H-1B visa fraud in Frisco, including ghost businesses and falsified papers. Citing those reports, Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a> has opened investigations<\/a> into 30 North Texas businesses<\/a>, and four members of Congress from Texas sent a letter<\/a> asking the feds to investigate \u201creported H-1B fraud activities in North Texas.\u201d Gill and other elected officials have pointed to these YouTube documentaries as evidence that the H-1B visa program should be abolished entirely<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both political parties agree that the H-1B visa program<\/a> could use more guardrails to ensure companies aren\u2019t exploiting either American or foreign workers. But there is no evidence of widespread fraud, or that it\u2019s displacing huge numbers of American workers, said Guarav Khanna, an economics professor at the University of California San Diego. Most voters agree, with more than 60%<\/a>, including majorities in both parties, saying legal immigrants take jobs that Americans don\u2019t want. And the overall economic impact has been positive, research shows, especially through contributions to innovation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re working on a better computer, you don\u2019t realize that innovation was likely done by an Indian immigrant in Silicon Valley,\u201d Khanna said. \u201cThat\u2019s less tangible, whereas suddenly seeing more Indians in your neighborhood, the way that affects your life feels much more salient.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since Trump took office, attention on the program has ratcheted up significantly, alongside a spike in hateful rhetoric and threats of violence against South Asians<\/a> on social media. The use of South Asian slurs in online spaces rose by 115% between January 2023 and December 2025, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit that tracks discrimination against Asian Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If there are loopholes in the H-1B program, the federal government must address that, Reddy said. But the conversation in recent months has gone well beyond just talking about visa reform.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, attorney general candidate Aaron Reitz called for deportations of legal immigrants, saying<\/a> the \u201cinvasion of un-assimilated and un-assimilable Indians\u201d is turning Collin, Dallas and Harris counties into \u201cCalcutta, Delhi and Hyderabad.\u201d Videos of Abbott\u2019s Diwali event<\/a> have gone viral, as have clips<\/a> of Sen. John Cornyn<\/a>, who is in a tight primary against Paxton, speaking to the U.S.-India Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

At a recent Grapevine Republican Club event, in a Dallas suburb 30 minutes from Frisco, conversation about visa fraud quickly turned to discussion of the area\u2019s rapid demographic change, with attendees complaining about the number of Indian families at Costco and South Asian immigrants who are newly learning to drive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laura Oakley, president of the Grapevine Republican Club, said Abbott needed to take more action on \u201cthe Indian issue,\u201d saying his block on H-1B visas for state institutions wasn\u2019t enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI will say, it\u2019s a little bit like setting a fire and then running in as a fireman and being the hero,\u201d she told the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The last few months have been demoralizing for Indian Americans in Frisco, Reddy said, as their everyday activities like worshipping at temple<\/a> or hosting community events<\/a> have become social media cannon fodder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After years of working to elect Republican candidates, Reddy decided to throw his cowboy hat into the ring for city council this year. Karthik ran too, along with other Indian community leaders who stepped up for council and school board, a show of political engagement that seems to have intensified the backlash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reddy and Karthik say they saw it as an opportunity to give back to a community that has given them so much. They lost, as did all the other Indian candidates, an outcome that activist social media accounts closely watched<\/a> and celebrated<\/a> online<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Campaign posters for politicians, including Sreekanth Reddy, are displayed by the side of the road in Frisco. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

\"\"A man loads his groceries outside the India Bazaar, a grocery store, in Frisco. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

Reddy sees Indians\u2019 slow move to the right as evidence of the assimilation that activists demand from them. But he worries this season in the spotlight will drive voters away from the party. In its February nationwide survey, AAPI Data found those fears may be well-founded: 68% of Indian voters said Trump has gone too far in restricting legal immigration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot of the people who voted for Trump wouldn\u2019t now,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s been disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indian GOP leaders not immune to vitriol<\/p>\n

Last September, Alexander Duncan, a short-lived Republican U.S. Senate candidate and online provocateur, posted on social media<\/a> about a 20-foot Hindu statue that had been erected outside Houston.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are we allowing a false statue of a false Hindu god to be here in Texas? We are a Christian nation!\u201d Duncan wrote. When Hindu and religious freedom groups called on George, the GOP chair, to respond, he defended Duncan..\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians need to be concerned about idols and false gods,\u201d George said on social media<\/a>, noting that his father was a Pentecostal preacher. \u201cThere is only one God, and that is Jesus Christ Himself\u2026I know it is not politically correct, but I honestly don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the comments, among the GOP bashing and alarm bells about the First Amendment, were a smattering of racist comments toward George. Even when pushing party priorities, like abolishing the H-1B visa program<\/a>, George regularly attracts anti-Indian replies. Elijah Schaffer, a controversial MAGA influencer, said on social media<\/a> that George is \u201cwhy Texas is turning into Mumbai and the center of the H1B immigration fraud.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

George, who did not respond to a request for comment, is up for reelection next month and has been endorsed by a wide array of conservative groups. That election, like other GOP races featuring Indian candidates, will test how much of the anti-Indian sentiment pervading social media is spilling into the party itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy easily won the GOP nomination for governor, despite a slew of racism from his opponent, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who called him an \u201canchor baby who got your birthright citizenship from your H-1B parents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vice President JD Vance, whose wife is Indian and Hindu, has tried to walk a fine line amid this recent firestorm, echoing concerns about widespread H-1B visa fraud while praising \u201cpeople who have come to the United States in the past who have enriched this country, like my in-laws.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump, meanwhile, recently reposted remarks<\/a> by a conservative podcast host who called India and China \u201chellhole\u201d countries whose immigrants haven\u2019t integrated into American society like \u201cEuropean Americans.\u201d A spokesperson for the president said in a statement to the New York Times<\/a> that Trump \u201cloves patriotic Indian Americans\u201d and acknowledged their place in his winning 2024 coalition.<\/p>\n

\"\"Vijay Karthik, a candidate for City Council Place 5, waves at passing cars outside a polling location at Fire Station 7 in Frisco on April 22, 2026. Manoo Sirivelu\/The Texas Tribune<\/p>\n

Karthik, who found a new political home in the Republican Party, said he hopes the GOP more forcefully shuts down the anti-immigrant, anti-Indian voices that have taken hold in some corners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe block of voters, when we come together, we can swing elections,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve talked about this with the Republican Party, saying, don\u2019t alienate us, because [Indians\u2019] viewpoints are aligned and you can capture them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Disclosure: The New York Times has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete\u00a0list of them here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[392,1724,430,51280,7913,27,29,28,105967,6473],"class_list":["post-289371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-greg-abbott","tag-immigration","tag-north-texas","tag-photo-build","tag-photography","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-u-s-visa","tag-well-a-homepage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}