As the US tightens visa rules and the H-1B debate grows sharper, Indian professionals are finding themselves dragged into public controversies that have little to do with their work. A recent online rant, triggered by a cybersecurity incident, was one such moment, until a US-based tech worker stepped in to push back, speaking from what he sees on the job every day.

John Freeman, a software engineer at Citadel, publicly defended his Indian colleagues—including his team lead and boss—after a racist-filled rant surfaced on X. Freeman said many of his colleagues are Indian and described them as “pretty sharp” and “super friendly.”

US techie defends Indian colleague

“Let’s talk about Indian competence,” Freeman wrote in a post on X. “My team lead is Indian. My boss is Indian. His boss, who hired both of us, is Indian. His boss, the CTO, is Indian. They’re all pretty sharp,” he added.

ALSO READ

Freeman continued, “They know this business inside and out. They work well with others. Everyone is super friendly. They all speak English very well. I’ve been here a year and never met an “everything is P1 urgent priority” guy, of any race. My last boss at my last company was Indian and he was pretty good too. If everyone you run into at your company is incompetent, then maybe your company just hires incompetents.”

Freeman’s remarks were in response to an X post that labelled Indian professionals as habitually incompetent and disruptive at work, while pointing to a recent incident involving Madhu Gottumukkala, the Indian-origin head of the US cyber defence agency.

Gottumukkala recently made headlines after a Politico report said he triggered a DHS inquiry by uploading a sensitive document to ChatGPT, though the report also confirmed that he had received permission to use the AI chatbot beforehand.

The X post, on the other hand, claimed that Indian colleagues routinely labelled their tasks as “P1 super-urgent” without justification, relying on shouting, threats, and pressure tactics rather than facts or process.

“Without fail, those Indians would never have facts, reasons or explanations for why it was a priority. They would just yell and threaten, claim you are causing problems by holding the company up, and warn that very high-up people would hear about it or that your job might be at risk,” the X post’s author wrote, adding that he was often disliked for his habit of saying ‘No.’

ALSO READ

Freeman’s post comes amid a particularly tense phase for Indian professionals in the US, especially those on H-1B visas. The tightening of immigration pathways, higher scrutiny of foreign workers, and the $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications under President Donald Trump’s policy framework have together changed the tone of the debate.

What was once labelled as an economic or skills-based discussion is now turning into cultural resentment, often directed at those working in technology and government.

Who is Madhu Gottumukkala?

Madhu Gottumukkala serves as Acting Director and Deputy Director of CISA, the agency responsible for protecting the cyber and physical infrastructure Americans rely on daily. Before joining CISA, he was the Commissioner and Chief Information Officer for South Dakota’s Bureau of Information and Technology, overseeing statewide cybersecurity and IT operations.

With over 24 years of experience across government and private industry, Gottumukkala also sits on the advisory committee of Dakota State University’s College of Business and Information Systems.

Born in India, he completed his undergraduate engineering degree at Andhra University before moving to the US for higher education. He holds a PhD in Information Systems from Dakota State University, an MBA from the University of Dallas, and a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Arlington.