Indian-origin entrepreneur Vivek Wadhwa said anti-India attacks on social media platform X are completely out of control after he was targeted over his views on the H-1B program. Wadhwa had recently commented on a post in which the court had declared the Donald Trump administration’s $100,00 H-1B fee invalid and it had dragged her into a major controversy.Senator Lisa Murkowski praised the court’s order and said it was very timely, as schools in Alaska are in the middle of hiring season and often have to rely on H-1Bs. “Many school districts in rural and remote parts of the state rely on the H-1B visa program to bring quality teachers to their communities. In Alaska, this is not a partisan issue: The state legislature unanimously passed a resolution last month urging the federal government to waive fees for teachers,” Murkowski said.Wadhwa commented on this by asking why Americans are not interested in teaching jobs in Alaska and then cry when their jobs are taken by H-1B visa holders. Pointing out the hypocrisy, Wadhwa wrote: “Dear anti-immigrants are constantly screaming that foreigners are taking American jobs: Why aren’t you teaching in rural Alaska? Hundreds of positions are vacant. Remote districts are importing teachers from overseas on H-1B because you won’t go there. You don’t really want those jobs; You don’t want these qualified foreigners to have. Complete hypocrisy.”Wadhwa’s observation was twisted and interpreted as if he was calling for Americans to move to Alaska to teach and Indian H-1B immigrants to take over all the Fortune 500 jobs and careers.Wadhwa hit back saying that he never said these things and he is not a supporter of the H-1B visa program. He was being targeted only because of his Indian origin even though he had never actually lived in India. “The anti-India attacks are completely out of control. For the record: I have never advocated for H-1B visas and I don’t even like the program. I have repeatedly said that the huge backlog of green cards is tantamount to indentured servitude. I’ve also never actually been to India. “This is blatant racism,” Wadhwa said.
Who is Vivek Wadhwa?
Vivek Wadhwa is an Indian-American technology entrepreneur and academic. He is a Distinguished Fellow and Adjunct Professor at the Carnegie Mellon School of Engineering in Silicon Valley and a Distinguished Fellow in the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School. Born in India, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Computing Studies from the University of Canberra in 1974 and an MBA from New York University in 1986.