Racist Backlash Targets Indian Americans Amid MAGA Surge

By Suraj Karowa/ANW
Washington, D.C. — November 17, 2025

In the wake of Donald Trump’s triumphant return to the White House, a chilling wave of bigotry has swept across social media and into American streets, zeroing in on Indian Americans.

What began as fringe vitriol has exploded into mainstream conservative discourse, with far-right voices decrying Diwali celebrations and H-1B visas as existential threats to a “Christian” America. Experts warn this surge could ignite real-world violence, unraveling the “model minority” facade that long shielded Indian immigrants from overt racism.

The flashpoint came last month when FBI Director Kash Patel, a first-generation Indian American and Trump loyalist, posted Diwali greetings on X. The response was a torrent of hate: “Go back home and worship your sand demons,” sneered one far-right pastor.

“Get the f**k out of my country,” demanded another. Millions viewed these posts, which paled against even uglier slurs invoking “foreign demons” and calls for mass deportation. Similar fury engulfed greetings from Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Harmeet Dhillon, and even official accounts like the White House and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office.

Indian American conservatives, once darlings of the GOP, expressed stunned disbelief. Ramaswamy, who urged Republicans to ditch “identity politics” after Democrats’ election rout, watched as users proclaimed Indians’ very existence “disgusting.”

Dinesh D’Souza, the provocateur behind decades of anti-Black rhetoric, lamented on X: “In a career spanning 40 years, I have never encountered this type of rhetoric. The Right never used to talk like this.” Yet, as analyst Siddharth Venkataramakrishnan of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue noted, “The call is coming from inside the house.”

This isn’t isolated outrage—it’s a symptom of a broader anti-migrant crusade. The Center for the Study of Organized Hate logged nearly 2,700 xenophobic posts targeting Indians in October alone, a spike researchers tie to Elon Musk’s lax moderation on X. Since his 2022 takeover, hate speech once curbed now proliferates unchecked.

Triggers include high-profile moments: Trump’s AI adviser pick Sriram Krishnan, Ramaswamy’s culture critiques, U.S.-India trade tensions, and a Florida crash involving a Sikh driver.

At the core festers resentment over H-1B visas, which funnel skilled Indian workers into tech and STEM jobs. Trump deputy Stephen Miller has branded India an immigration “cheater,” while the administration slapped a $100,000 fee on applications, curbing access. Far-right influencers portray Indians as “scammers” stealing American livelihoods, peddling tropes of caste favoritism, “dirty” habits, and hand-eating as proof of inferiority.

Slurs from 4chan—like “pajeet”—have seeped into everyday lexicon, amplified by “replacement theory” memes depicting Indian crowds as an “invasion.” Echoes of the white supremacist novel The Camp of the Saints, beloved by Steve Bannon and Miller, frame Indians as barbaric hordes toppling Western civilization.

Ironically, Indian Americans’ success fuels the fire. Pew data crowns them America’s highest-earning ethnic group, with CEOs helming Fortune 500 firms, top bureaucrats like Patel and Vice President JD Vance’s wife Usha, and stars in tech, medicine, and media.

“The public image is of successful tech pros and CEOs,” says Rohit Chopra, a Santa Clara University professor co-authoring hate reports. “The community plays that up too.” But this gloss ignores diversity: U.S. citizens, visa holders, students, and undocumented folks from varied faiths and regions.

Offline, the poison spreads. In Palm Bay, Florida, Councilman Chandler Langevin’s social media rants for Indian deportation earned him a October 2 censure vote. Irving, Texas—tech hub to thousands of Indian families—saw masked protesters waving “Don’t India My Texas” signs. Stop AAPI Hate logs incidents: A Georgia woman menaced at a drive-thru with ICE threats; Texas workers berated as “b*tches” facing deportation cheers. Salil Maniktahla, a Virginia resident, endured slurs and threats at a restaurant—”go home and do Bharatanatyam”—escalating to a police call.

White supremacists now stalk Hindu temples, per Texas leaders. At Diwali parties, whispers of OCI cards signal exit plans. “People are mouthing off in ways they couldn’t pre-2016,” Maniktahla said. Trump’s rhetoric—promising the “largest deportation operation in history”—emboldens it, even as spokesperson Kush Desai touts his “fierce defense of religious liberty.”

Vance, whose Indian American wife embodies the community’s ascent, offers tepid pushback. He shrugged off a staffer’s “normalize Indian hate” post as “youthful indiscretion,” while his Claremont speech invoked heritage over ideals: Civil War descendants claim America more than immigrants, he argued. Too many newcomers erode “social cohesion,” Vance said, advocating controlled inflows from the “grateful.”

At the White House Diwali event, Patel stressed his parents’ “lawful” entry—a nod to MAGA purity tests. Yet X replies dismissed him: “Celebrate your foreign gods back in India. America is Christian.” Chopra calls it a “wake-up call”: No minority is exempt. “This should spark reflection on solidarity with other vulnerable groups.”

As Trump’s second term dawns, Indian Americans grapple with betrayal. Once tokenized as “patriotic” allies, they’re now collateral in a nativist war. With Antifa designations, ISIS plots, and border vigilantism dominating headlines, this undercurrent risks boiling over. Will the right self-correct, or fracture further? For now, a community built on aspiration braces for siege.