Donald Trump ally and right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk joined the ‘America First’ debate by taking a jab at legal immigrants, particularly those of Indian descent, in a recent social media post. Taking to his X profile on Monday night (US time), he hit it out against legal immigration for “displacing” American workers in the country.
“America does not need more visas for people from India,” he wrote online. “Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put out own people first.”
Kirk’s scathing review of the legal immigration system empowering Indians came in response to Laura Ingraham’s (of Fox News) anti-India tweet. “Don’t forget that any trade deal with India will require us to give them more visas. I’d rather not pay them in visas and trade deficits.” She further sent across a foreboding message to the Indian prime minister, adding, “Let [Narendra] Modi see what terms he can get from Xi instead.”
A page called ‘Crushing Woke Culture’ commented under Kirk’s post: “Crazy idea: how about our leaders stop selling out the middle class for cheap foreign labor and start rebuilding the American Dream for American?” To this, the far-right internet personality replied, “America for Americans. What a crazy thought.”
America does not need more visas for people from India. Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first. https://t.co/wcOsorvZFE
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 1, 2025
Internet reacts to Charlie Kirk’s Indian vs American workers rhetoric
Many like-minded people on Kirk’s side of X backed his arguments targeting H-1B visas for Indians as they agreed they were “displacing” American workers.
“The large company I work for based out of North Dallas, TX is overflowing with workers from India … majority of the senior executives are from India and project teams are 99% from India. Walk the halls of our office and its rare to find a name on the door that is NOT from India. This mess must STOP,” someone commented.
On the other side of the conversation, a user argued that cutting H-1B visas for Indians would “starve the US of talent, dull its tech edge and gut university budgets.”
The Indian individual went on to state documented success stories of the community, saying, “If the U.S. halts H-1B and student visas for Indians, it would shoot itself in the foot far worse than it would harm India. Indians make up 75% of H-1B visa holders, driving innovation at tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and fueling startups. Over 200,000 Indian students pump billions into U.S. universities and local economies yearly. Leaders like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, and Arvind Krishna showcase the system’s success.”
Call this what it is: entitlement. Some conservatives don't want competition from hardworking immigrants who outwork & outperform them. And here I'd been told progressives are the ones against merit. https://t.co/O1Zw50XgMY
— Billy Binion (@billybinion) September 2, 2025
Journalist Billy Binion also spoke out against Kirk’s post reeking of “entitlement.” He added, “Some conservatives don’t want competition from hardworking immigrants who outwork & outperform them. And here I’d been told progressives are the ones against merit.” Hailing the majority of Indian immigrants as “highly skilled,” Binion noted they hold “top median household income.” He further addressed that even if they cost more than US workers to their companies due to visa costs, there was a valid reason why organisations were going after such talent.
Alluding to Laura Ingraham’s post referenced in Charlie’s tweet, Binion called the claims therein “laughably wrong,” adding that there was no “general visa” restricted for Indians. As he acknowledged that the right-wing commentators were apparently talking about the nonimmigrant H-1B visa, he said “Trump can’t wave a magic wand & increase them” as the cap is set by law.
“A lot of folks don’t know how hard it is for people from India to immigrate to the US. We have strict country of origin caps for green cards—the wait time for Indians is 100+ years. The narrative that they’re waltzing into this country en masse is a lie,” he concluded his lengthy thread of explanation.
I am shocked, although I perhaps shouldn't be, at how a certain faction of the right has managed to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. I know so many Indian-American voters who went GOP for the first time in 2024, after they, too, were fed up with lunacy from the… https://t.co/BWpqFXc8rY
— Neeraja Deshpande (@neerajadeshp) September 2, 2025
An Indian-origin education policy analyst also called out the underlying “blatant racism” of such posts targeting Indian nationals, Indian-Americans and people of Indian-origin. “Neither H-1B nor OPT nor any other visa is India-only,” wrote Neeraja Deshpande.
Several other users also stood by the same assertion that there was no visa solely meant for people from India.
American journalist and policy advisor Avik Roy also chimed in, ” The old anti-immigration line was “immigrants were lazy moochers enrolling in welfare programs.’ The new anti-immigration line is ‘immigrants work too hard and make too much money.'”
The old anti-immigration line was “immigrants were lazy moochers enrolling in welfare programs.” The new anti-immigration line is “immigrants work too hard and make too much money.” https://t.co/GaQMAIX4Sp
— Avik Roy (@Avik) September 2, 2025
Charlie Kirk, Fox News’ Laura Ingraham speak out after Trump favoured Chinese students
Both Kirk and Ingraham’s social media tirades followed days after US President Donald Trump made a significant U-turn amid his immigration crackdown. Despite his administration doubling down on enhanced scrutiny targeting international students, the MAGA leader said over a week ago that he would allow 600,000 Chinese students into US universities.
Trump’s recent admission caught even his own loyal MAGA base off-guard, especially considering this year has already seen the president make certain moves to block foreign enrollment at Harvard, add new vetting protocols and expand the reasons for cancelling international students’ legal status.
Around mid-August, a government official spilled to multiple American news outlets that the US State Department had already revoked 6,000 international student visas (F-1) this year over “support for terrorism” and other stated legal violations.
Over this weekend, the Republican president again defended his backtracking decision despite backlash emerging from within his conservative base — even Laura Ingraham slammed the move, saying, “Those are 600,000 spots that American kids won’t get.”
In his interview with the Daily Caller on Sunday, Trump told them that it would be “insulting” to ban Chinese students, adding that his U-turn would benefit smaller universities. As the president said that the aforementioned 600,000 student visas would be issued over the next two years, he added that he wasn’t expecting anything in return for these visa issuances.
“No, I just think it’s, I think it’s, I think what we’re doing is the right thing to do,” he added. “It’s good to get along with countries, not bad, especially, you know, nuclear-powered countries.”
Not just student visas, the Trump administration is also particularly slamming into the H-1B visa program, with many senior official (including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick) calling it a “scam.”
Trump’s noticeable unequal treatment of India, China
However, his stance on India – another nuclear-powered nation – is starkly contrasting. The India-China debate is equally significant in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the blanket of global tariffs.
Despite China surpassing India to stay on top as the biggest purchaser of Russian oil, it is India that was hit with heftier duties as part of the Trump administration’s plans to exert additional pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine crisis. While China stands with 30% tariffs, Trump hits Indian goods coming into the US with staggering 50% levies, making for the highest in the world.
