H-1B visa debate fuels rise in anti‑South Asian rhetoric

At a City Council meeting in Frisco, Texas, speakers denounced the H-1B visa program as an “Indian takeover,” and one person said, “We must maintain our Rhodesia.” South Asian residents and city leaders pushed back; about one-third of Frisco’s population is of Asian heritage, and Mayor Jeff Cheney described many speakers as “outside agitators.” The H-1B program, created in 1990, allows up to 85,000 specialized foreign workers a year.

In 2023, roughly three-quarters of about 400,000 approved H-1B applications were for workers from India, and the Dallas-Fort Worth area ranked fourth for approvals. Rules bar companies from paying H-1B workers less than similarly qualified U.S. employees, but the rules’ effectiveness is disputed: tech and health groups argue the visas fill shortages, economists say they boost productivity and wages, and critics including unions point to cases such as the 2015 Disney layoffs and a 2024 jury finding against Cognizant.

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