A social media post by a MAGA supporter has ignited heated debate online after she criticised the growing number of Indian-American families in Forsyth County, Georgia.The user, identified as Kate, blamed the H-1B visa programme for what she described as Indian professionals dominating local jobs, housing markets and schools.According to her claims, around 35,000 Indian-American families now live in the county, which she argued was changing the local demographic landscape.
Kate accused companies of hiring foreign workers instead of Americans and said the immigration system was allowing migrants to build lives in the US while not fully identifying as American. “Companies based out of Atlanta and Alpharetta are hiring exclusively foreign workers. Now do every county in the country! This is how we lose America,” she concluded. Many in the comments echoed the sentiment, criticising the rising numbers of Indian-Americans in the country while calling for their deportation.“And the thing that is not talked about enough is: Taxpayers are stuck paying for their kids to go to school, in addition to losing jobs to them. We never voted to allow all of these people in – and they need to go home,” wrote one user. “We have the same problem in New Jersey! Americans are being locked out of departments, companies, and even entire industries. Americans are being discriminated against and it is infuriating,” added another. “Why can’t people from India stay in India?” asked one.
Forsyth County: A growing ‘Little India’
From high schools to offices, Indian-Americans dominate the halls and desks of most public spaces in Forsyth County, located in the northeastern region of the state of Georgia. A county that was previously known for its White population and the 1912 expulsion of its African-American population has come to be dominated by the community with the influx of migrants in 2010. To the shock of many native Americans, it is now one of the most Indian-American populated counties in the state. As per usafacts.org, the Asian population in the county has tripled from 2010 to 2022. Approximately 35,000 Indian-Americans reside in Forsyth County, according to recent census-based estimates. Not only their population, but their culture also dominates the high school with Indian festivals of kite-flying and Garba being celebrated officially with excitement. For the Indian-Americans, this eradicates the struggle of belonging and for the natives, this provides an insight into a new culture. “Last year we had planned a really big Garba night at Lambert, and that really made me feel at home with my own culture because I was able to experience spreading it to other people that weren’t just Indian and were from different backgrounds,” said Sneha Ramineni, a student at Lambert to NRI Pulse.“I would honestly go to these events,” said Kassia Romanchik, a non-Indian student at the school. “Obviously, I would rather go with someone who knows about it so that they can introduce me to it, but that’s true for any event.”While the students might be alright with the cultural exchange, it seems the county raises a warning signal for MAGA Americans already whining about the Indian-Americans legally residing in the country, as they have not been deported yet. Ironically, this is a call out for a place where late Civil Rights activist Jesse Jackson once carried out a Brotherhood March in 1987, to protest over the county’s history of racial exclusion and violence. Today, the county stands as a dramatically different place demographically, reflecting the changing face of modern America.
