'H1-B weaponising immigration policy towards xenophobia'

Tue, 23 September 2025

09:44

US President Donald Trump's 'reckless' proclamation imposing a USD 100,000 fee on H1B visas is not about protecting American jobs but about weaponising immigration policy to advance a xenophobic agenda, a leading community organisation said.

On Friday, the Trump administration announced a one-time USD 1,00,000 fee on H-1B visas. Indian American Impact strongly condemned Trump's reckless order imposing the USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas and said its chaotic rollout sparked panic and chaosespecially for professionals abroad working or visiting family with medical emergencies.

The proclamation is not about protecting American jobs; it is about weaponising immigration policy to advance a xenophobic agenda. By targeting H-1B holders, Trump is both sabotaging our economic future and fuelling discrimination against Indian Americans and all immigrant communities across the country, Executive Director of Indian American Impact Chintan Patel said in a statement Monday.

The organisation, which works to build power for Indian and South Asian Americans by mobilising, engaging and electing members of these communities across the US, said that the devastating policy threatens America's global leadership, undermines the high-skilled workforce that drives US competitiveness, and places an unbearable burden on families and businesses alike. Patel added that Trump's USD 100,000 fee on H-1B visas is a direct attack" on the very workers and communities who fuel America's economy and innovation.

The consequences will be immediate and devastating: families separated, careers derailed, and communities destabilised. Immigrants have always been America's greatest strength, building prosperity, breakthroughs, and communities that enrich us all.

Instead of embracing that strength, Trump is clamping down on every form of immigration, tearing families apart, destabilising businesses, and weakening our economy, he said adding that the America we believe in welcomes talent, keeps families together, and builds shared prosperity.

-- PTI

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