The Indian-origin tech entrepreneur says anti-India racism has spiraled out of control on social media after his comment about H-1B sparked criticism.
Indian-origin businessman Vivek Wadhwa said anti-India attacks on social media platform
Wadhwa recently commented on a court post in which he called the Donald Trump administration’s $100,000 H-1B fee invalid, leading to significant controversy.Sen. 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-1B. “Many school districts in rural and remote areas 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 teacher fees,” Murkowski said.
Wadhwa commented, wondering why Americans are not interested in teaching jobs in Alaska and then cry over jobs taken by H-1B visa holders. Pointing out the hypocrisy, Wadhwa wrote: “Dear anti-immigrants who constantly cry that foreigners are taking American jobs: why aren’t you teaching in rural Alaska? Hundreds of jobs remain empty.
Outlying districts import teachers from abroad with the H-1B program because you won’t move there.
You don’t actually want these jobs; You just don’t want qualified foreigners to get it. Complete hypocrisy.”
Wadhwa’s remark has been distorted and interpreted as if he was asking Americans to go teach in Alaska and allowing H-1B Indian immigrants to have all Fortune 500 jobs and professions.Wadhwa responded that he never said those things and is not even a supporter of the H-1B visa program.
He was targeted solely because of his Indian origin while he never lived in India. “The anti-Indian attacks are completely out of control. For the record: I have never lobbied for H-1B visas, and I don’t even like the program. I have repeatedly said that the massive green card backlog leads to slavery level.”
Also, I have never lived in India. “This is outright 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 in the School of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley, and a Distinguished Fellow in the Work-Life Program at Harvard Law School. Born in India, he graduated from the University of Canberra in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computing Studies, and from New York University in 1986 with a Master of Business Administration.