Prominent right-wing voices in the United States have launched an online campaign targeting India, linking immigration and outsourcing to Washington’s escalating trade tensions with New Delhi. Fox News host Laura Ingraham suggested India should be denied more work visas, telling her followers that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted better terms, he should “see what he can get from Xi instead.” Her remarks were echoed by Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who claimed Indian professionals have displaced American workers and declared, “We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first.”
Far-right commentator Jack Posobiec took the rhetoric further, calling for sweeping tariffs on India’s outsourcing sector. “Tariff the call centers. All of them. Tariff all foreign call centers and foreign remote workers. 100% tariff,” he wrote in multiple posts.
The remarks have drawn sharp criticism, particularly from Indian Americans, many of whom leaned Republican in 2024. One Indian-American voter wrote online that the rhetoric amounted to “blatant racism” and that she regretted supporting the GOP. Journalist Billy Binion also challenged conservatives, accusing them of fearing competition from “hardworking immigrants who outperform them.”
The backlash comes as President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on Indian imports to 50 per cent, higher than the 30 per cent imposed on Chinese goods. His administration has simultaneously revoked thousands of student visas for Indians even as more than 600,000 Chinese students continue to study in the U.S. Indian students and professionals form a major part of America’s technology and education sectors, with Indians holding roughly 75 per cent of H-1B visas and contributing billions to university budgets.
Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna accused Trump of risking long-term strategic ties. “We can’t allow the ego of Donald Trump to destroy a strategic relationship with India, that is key to ensuring that America leads and not China,” he warned. New Delhi has dismissed Washington’s criticisms as “unfair and unjustified,” insisting that energy imports from Russia are guided by national interest.