‘No more visas for Indians’, say US right-wing supporters, claim ‘America is full’

Amid the ongoing visa issues faced by immigrants in the United States,  conservative activist has sparked controversy with his comment on X. Charlie Kirk wrote on X that the US does not need more visas for people from India. 

“America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first,” Kirk wrote on X.

His tweet was a reply to Laura Ingraham, a prominent right-wing conservative host. Ingraham wrote, “Don’t forget that any trade deal with India will require us to give them more visas. I’d rather not pay them in visas and trade deficits. Let Modi see what terms he can get from Xi instead.”

Last week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, in an interview with Fox News, described the H-1B programme as a ‘total scam’, claiming it allows companies to displace American workers with lower-cost labour, largely from India.

“Most of them (H-1Bs) are from one country, India, there’s a cottage industry about how all those people make money off this system,” DeSantis said. He alleged that US employees are frequently required to train their replacements before losing their jobs.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis questioned the need for foreign workers at a time when automation is already affecting US jobs. “Artificial Intelligence is pushing young Americans out of work. Why should we bring in foreign workers when our own citizens need jobs?” he asked.

He further alleged that many companies are “laying off American employees in large numbers while continuing to hire new H-1B workers and extend visas for existing ones”.