**Submission statement**: Immigration from South Asian countries, primarily young H1-B workers starting families and taking up jobs in the tech industry, has fueled a significant economic boom in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the past few years and contributed to a cultural melting pot in the region. However, the increased tightening of H1-B restrictions by the federal government, combined with viral videos on social media targeting the South Asian community and labeling them as dangerous “invaders” and “visa scammers”, has caused a reversal, with frightened South Asians disappearing from the housing market – either reluctant to purchase homes due to fear of sudden deportation, or reluctantly deciding to sell off their homes and return to India in the face of mounting discrimination and harassment. This has caused a downward spiral in the local economy, and severely impacted the tax base in the DFW area needed to finance schools, roads and other infrastructure projects.
***
**Why this matters**: This news illustrates more negative effects of the administration’s attempts to discourage immigration at the local level. In January, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered state agencies and public universities to freeze new H-1B petitions, while President Trump has imposed new fees for H1-B visas. These actions have caused a sharp decline in home purchases by immigrants now reluctant to settle down in the area, hurting the businesses that rely on South Asians for their workforces **and** home builders who rely on South Asian immigrants as a large pool of first-time home buyers.
!ping IND&SOUTH-ASIA&IMMIGRATION
sash5034 on
It’s cute that people will read this and assume it’s gonna be viewed as negative by MAGA chuds
timhottens on
If you want to lose faith in your fellow Americans, go look at the comments on the video Bloomberg produced to accompany this piece: https://youtu.be/jJ9JAROqxUo
busyHighwayFred on
Companies have been abusing H-1B for a long time now, the whole point was to get Doctors and other specialists you cannot find here. Instead, it’s Home Depot forgoing equivalent US new grads in favor of Indian new grads.
MontusBatwing2 on
As a tech worker living in this area, it’s genuinely infuriating to see how out of step the reality of the situation is from the rhetoric.
This is a thriving, exciting area to be. And the cultural diversity doesn’t diminish that, it enhances that.
And while the focus is for people here on H1-B visas- most of the people I interact with aren’t here on a visa. They were either born here, or have become naturalized citizens.
The anti South Asian bias isn’t a reaction to people on work visas. That’s a cover. It’s racism, pure and simple.
These are my friends, neighbors, and colleagues. And generally fellow Americans as well. The open racism shown toward these people is despicable and bizarre.
Aggravating-Fox8553 on
turns out kicking out highly skilled workers hurts the housing market lol shocking
DownvoteMeToHellBut on
Indians are both underpaid and also buying up real estate 🤷🏽♂️
7 Comments
**Submission statement**: Immigration from South Asian countries, primarily young H1-B workers starting families and taking up jobs in the tech industry, has fueled a significant economic boom in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the past few years and contributed to a cultural melting pot in the region. However, the increased tightening of H1-B restrictions by the federal government, combined with viral videos on social media targeting the South Asian community and labeling them as dangerous “invaders” and “visa scammers”, has caused a reversal, with frightened South Asians disappearing from the housing market – either reluctant to purchase homes due to fear of sudden deportation, or reluctantly deciding to sell off their homes and return to India in the face of mounting discrimination and harassment. This has caused a downward spiral in the local economy, and severely impacted the tax base in the DFW area needed to finance schools, roads and other infrastructure projects.
***
**Why this matters**: This news illustrates more negative effects of the administration’s attempts to discourage immigration at the local level. In January, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered state agencies and public universities to freeze new H-1B petitions, while President Trump has imposed new fees for H1-B visas. These actions have caused a sharp decline in home purchases by immigrants now reluctant to settle down in the area, hurting the businesses that rely on South Asians for their workforces **and** home builders who rely on South Asian immigrants as a large pool of first-time home buyers.
!ping IND&SOUTH-ASIA&IMMIGRATION
It’s cute that people will read this and assume it’s gonna be viewed as negative by MAGA chuds
If you want to lose faith in your fellow Americans, go look at the comments on the video Bloomberg produced to accompany this piece: https://youtu.be/jJ9JAROqxUo
Companies have been abusing H-1B for a long time now, the whole point was to get Doctors and other specialists you cannot find here. Instead, it’s Home Depot forgoing equivalent US new grads in favor of Indian new grads.
As a tech worker living in this area, it’s genuinely infuriating to see how out of step the reality of the situation is from the rhetoric.
This is a thriving, exciting area to be. And the cultural diversity doesn’t diminish that, it enhances that.
And while the focus is for people here on H1-B visas- most of the people I interact with aren’t here on a visa. They were either born here, or have become naturalized citizens.
The anti South Asian bias isn’t a reaction to people on work visas. That’s a cover. It’s racism, pure and simple.
These are my friends, neighbors, and colleagues. And generally fellow Americans as well. The open racism shown toward these people is despicable and bizarre.
turns out kicking out highly skilled workers hurts the housing market lol shocking
Indians are both underpaid and also buying up real estate 🤷🏽♂️