It’s curious how the US immigration debate has moved to India’s disadvantage: it has transitioned from those illegally entering the country or student and others overstaying their visas, to Indians holding valid visas, and even Green Card holders are not exempt.
The latest US Supreme Court ruling empowers immigration authorities to deny entry to a Green Card holder if they determine “moral turpitude”. It’s not clear if the ruling defines what kind of moral turpitude, but it does say the authorities “do not need to conclusively prove” that the Green Card holder has committed a disqualifying crime.
“The irony is India does not figure on the radar of either the Republicans or the Democrats,” argues Brig Anil Raman, (Retd), head of the Defence Fellowship programme at the Takshashshila Institution. Raman also closely studies US politics and made an interesting point:
“Indians figure in terms of social media, they are an issue which has crept into the political conversation and that is something we should be concerned about because in the last one year, it was conflated by Pakistan’s ISPR and China who channelled hatred for India online, creating issues and shaping perceptions,” he said.
The perception, which India has been unable to counter, is that unemployment among technically qualified Americans is because of Indians who hire only other Indians and commit fraud. That has drawn public anger. Raman believes a lot of public anger is directed at the Tech majors that hire Indians at lower pay for more work.
“In fact, the debate has got so polarised that it now targets visa holding students who are there legally,” he said. “Otherism has come to the US, and it does not matter who they are or what they do, they are not us.”
Important to note that India still does not have a trade deal with the US. Also interesting to note, two key figures in the Trump administration known to have leanings towards India, have not intervened in India’s defence, whether it’s Vice-President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“As vice-president, Vance has a job stronger on rhetoric than action,” says Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, head of India Practice at the Eurasia Group. “He sees India as the sort of partner that works for an isolationist US. Delhi provides its own security, uses its own soldiers, not demand US protection or help unlike Europe. But his Indian wife is a liability with the MAGA crowd.”
There’s also the fact that in Washington DC he is unpopular. He is seen to have come from nowhere and there’s no clarity about where he stands ideologically.
“Rubio is the son of immigrants and so not a hard liner on them, but he is allied with the white supremacist Steve Miller, who is anti-immigration,” says Pal Chaudhuri. In other words, don’t expect Rubio to stick his neck out for immigrants.
He is also hard wired on foreign policy and like the former president George Bush jr, is pro-India in the sense that he sees Delhi as a partner in security terms.
Neither Vance nor Rubio have anything against India. But the policies seen as anti-India are the work of President Donald Trump and it seems there’s little either can do about it.
