Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
With a remarkable rise in anti-Indian animosity, many Indian Americans are asking difficult questions about acceptance in the United States.
In its rawest form — especially on social media — this hostility appears as overt racism and religious bigotry: unfounded claims that Indians are unintelligent, morally suspect, or criminal. But the same prejudice also shows up in subtler, more respectable language, including rhetoric from senior political figures.
As New York Times columnist Lydia Polgreen recently documented, anti-Indian animosity has been expressed in both crude and coded ways, from racist posts online to accusations by powerful leaders that Indian professionals are exploiting immigration systems or “stealing” American jobs. This is not fringe chatter alone — it has sewn unease within a community that has long defined itself through professional achievement and educational attainment.
Prominent conservative voices have increasingly singled out Indian immigrants. As Polgreen noted, Stephen Miller, a chief architect of hardline immigration policies, has accused Indian professionals of gaming immigration laws at the expense of American workers. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has labeled the H-1B visa program — which enables highly skilled immigrants, many of them Indian technology workers, to come to the United States with their families — as “chain migration run amok.” Meanwhile, comments by Vice President JD Vance, who is married to a Hindu woman of Indian descent, unsettled many Indian Americans when he publicly expressed the hope that his wife would one day convert to Christianity.
Critical voices have not been limited to one political party. Some Democratic and Democratic-aligned lawmakers have also questioned aspects of immigration policy that disproportionately affect Indian professionals. For instance, Senator Dick Durbin, a Democratic leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee, criticized the H-1B and L-1 visa programs as being used in ways that displace American workers and benefit employers at the expense of domestic labor. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders — who caucuses with Democrats — has argued that the H-1B program can undercut U.S. wages by replacing high-paying jobs with foreign labor.
This rhetoric represents a startling reversal in the story of one of the most successful immigrant communities in modern American history.
From Exclusion to Opportunity
For much of the 20th century, Indian immigration to the United States was effectively barred. A series of exclusionary laws classified Indians as ineligible for citizenship, reducing migration to a trickle. Even after the Luce–Celler Act of 1946 created a symbolic opening, Indian immigration was capped at just 100 people per year. The Migration Policy Institute reports that even as late as 1960, there were only 12,000 Indian immigrants in the United States — less that 0.5 percent of an immigrant population of 9.7 million.
Everything changed with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. By dismantling race-based quotas and prioritizing family reunification and skills, the law opened the door to a new wave of immigrants. Over the following decades, Indian doctors, engineers, scientists, students, and entrepreneurs began reshaping the American landscape.
Few immigrant communities have translated opportunity into achievement as effectively. With a median household income well above the national average, the majority of Indian American adults have used their strong work ethic to excel in higher education and find positions in high-skill professions.
In her 2025 book Indian Genius: The Meteoric Rise of Indians in America, journalist Meenakshi Ahamed offers vivid portraits of Indian Americans at the forefront of this success. Her book features well-known figures such as Satya Nadella, Vinod Khosla, Shantanu Narayen, Chandrika Tandon, Nikesh Arora, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Deepak Chopra, Nikki Haley, and Fareed Zakaria — individuals who have left an outsized imprint on business, culture, science, and public life.
From fewer than 15,000 people in 1965, the Indian American population has grown to more than five million today — about 1.5 percent of the U.S. population. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey found that the median annual household income for Indian Americans was $100,000, significantly higher than that of other Asian Americans ($75,000) and the general population ($53,600). Indians were also the most highly educated group surveyed: 72 percent were college graduates, compared to 51 percent of other Asian Americans and 30 percent of the broader population.
By nearly every conventional metric, this stands as one of the most successful immigration stories in American history.
Indian Americans have become a highly visible expression of the American dream. But as we rightly celebrate the achievements rooted in our heritage, we also bear a responsibility to honor and invest in our adopted country — the United States of America.
Citizenship and American Identity
As current attitudes have shown, success alone does not insulate a community from deeper questions about belonging.
In another recent New York Times essay, Ezekiel Kweku argues that a cohesive and inclusive American identity does not appear spontaneously — it must be forged and continuously renewed through shared effort. That insight resonates deeply with the experience of every immigrant community, including ours.
Kweku’s core point is that the world has changed, and so must our understanding of what it means to be American. He also maintains that one thing has not changed: an inclusive national identity, one that unites people across cultures and faiths, does not simply exist. It must be intentionally built, with participation from all corners of society.
This challenges us to ask: How are we participating in America’s civic life? Are we contributing to its sense of shared purpose? Or do we risk being perceived as standing apart?
A Conversation That Made Me Pause
Recently, I asked a longtime friend — an evangelical Christian and a committed supporter of the MAGA movement — for his views on the immigration debate. His response surprised me with its bluntness.
“‘Immigrants’ is too broad a term,” he said. “Like everything else, there’s a pecking order. I see two groups: givers and takers. Givers come to contribute as citizens while improving their lives. Takers come to take without giving back.”
I disagreed with his framing, but I couldn’t dismiss the underlying challenge. It forced me to confront an uncomfortable question — not about how America views us, but how we have positioned ourselves within America.
Where We Went Wrong
As a proud immigrant, I have experienced both the generosity of this country and the responsibilities that come with belonging to it. Immigrants contribute enormously to the U.S. economy, culture, and innovation.
But citizenship — earned or inherited — is not only about rights. It is also about duty.
This is where we, as a community, need to engage in honest self-reflection.
Many Indian Americans have integrated economically but not civically. We vote inconsistently. We engage politically only when immigration policies affect us directly. We often remain insulated within our own social, linguistic, and religious circles.
It is naïve to believe that economic success alone guarantees acceptance. It does not. And it never has.
Visibility Without Sensitivity
Some of the backlash we now face is rooted in ignorance and prejudice. But not all of it can be dismissed that easily.
Obvious displays of wealth or cultural dominance — closing public streets for lavish weddings, disrupting shared spaces without regard for others, or asserting entitlement rather than gratitude — may feel harmless or celebratory to insiders. To outsiders, they can reinforce perceptions of arrogance, separation, and indifference.
This is not a call to erase our culture or mute our joy. It is a reminder that integration requires awareness — not just visibility.
America has always welcomed immigrants who build alongside it, not apart from it.
Citizenship Is a Privilege, Not a Possession
Today, roughly 26 million people in the United States are naturalized citizens — about 7.5 to 8 percent of the population — and the vast majority chose America deliberately, swore allegiance to its Constitution, and accepted the obligations that come with that oath.
The United States remains a predominantly Christian nation, with roughly six in ten Americans identifying as Christian. Jews, Muslims, and Hindus each represent about one to two percent of the population, alongside a rapidly growing religiously unaffiliated segment.
Pluralism has always been America’s strength. But pluralism does not thrive in silos. It thrives through shared norms, mutual respect, and civic participation.
An inclusive American identity does not emerge automatically. It must be forged — patiently, intentionally, and collectively.
How Indian Immigrants Can Win Over America
Being an ideal immigrant does not mean abandoning one’s heritage. It means contributing positively to the country we now call home while honoring where we come from.
In the face of rising anti-Indian sentiment, some have urged Indian Americans to keep their heads down and avoid attention. I believe the opposite is true. Our voices matter—and this is precisely the moment they should be heard.
What I am advocating is a broader sense of belonging: an awareness of the American community beyond our own ethnic and professional circles. I am advocating for engaged citizenship. For showing up—not conditionally or defensively, but fully.
That means serving this country faithfully and unconditionally. It means being sensitive to the struggles of all Americans, not just Indian Americans. Too often, we highlight the relatively high median income of our community while overlooking the realities faced by millions of others. According to a USDA report, 47.4 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2023, including 13.8 million children. Their struggles are not separate from ours. We share responsibility for the society we benefit from.
Winning trust is not about demanding acceptance; it is about earning it through consistent contribution. For immigrants like us, that begins with learning English well enough to participate fully in civic life and engage beyond our immediate circles. It means knowing our white, Black, and brown neighbors — and treating them all as equals. It means volunteering to serve, not simply to network. It means giving to local and national charities. It means respecting local laws, local customs, and our shared public spaces. It involves sharing our cultural traditions in ways that invite curiosity rather than resentment, supporting newer immigrants as they adapt, and participating politically with a broad sense of responsibility rather than narrow, single-issue advocacy.
Above all, it requires building genuine friendships across racial, religious, and cultural lines. Trust is not built through rhetoric. It is built through presence, contribution, and a shared commitment to the society we call home.
America has not yet fulfilled its promise of forming “a more perfect union.” But it remains a work in progress—one that immigrants have helped shape at every stage of its history.
Yes, immigration is changing America. And if we choose responsibility over entitlement, humility over isolation, and contribution over grievance, it will continue to change America—for the better.