The developments come at a time when the United States has also proposed ending the grace period for H-1B visa holders after they lose their jobs, a move that could directly affect a large number of Indian professionals working in the country.
The controversy over the racial remarks began after the US Department of Homeland Security released a video featuring Megatron, the character from the Transformers film. A poster accompanying the video carried the message, “Get the hell off our streets, ‘Mr Singh,’ you don’t know how to drive.”
The video showed Megatron talking about the release of aliens. In the United States, the term “aliens” is commonly used for people who come from other countries. The video went on to call for the release of truck drivers Harjinder Singh, Rajwinder Kumar, Bekzhan Beshekiyev, Akhros Bozorov and Jasvir Singh, who had been involved in road accidents and other crimes.
Another post featured the film’s hero telling a bearded man, “Leave the country yourself or be prepared to face the consequences.”
Several organisations in the United States have opposed the posts and criticised the alleged racist remarks. Following the growing controversy, the department removed the posts.
The department wrote, “If you step foot in this country with hostile intent, know that we will defend ourselves. We will defend American values. We will defend our country.”
The latest controversy comes after the United States had earlier imposed sanctions on four Indian companies. These included Porteige Partners LLP, Sadashiv Overseas Limited, PP Softech Private Limited and Prakriti Infra Impex India Private Limited. The United States took the action over allegations of doing business with Iran.
Three Indians, IA Sheikh, Prashant Garg and Ramchandra Rangi, were also targeted in the action.
The focus has also turned to H-1B visas, under which several technology companies in the United States employ large numbers of workers, most of them from India and China. A proposal has now been made to end the grace period available to visa holders in this category.
The grace period refers to the time an individual receives after losing a job in the United States. The period is currently 60 days. If the grace period is eliminated, visa holders would have to leave the country immediately after losing their employment.
Several major companies, including TCS, Infosys, HCLTech and LTIMindtree, employ H-1B visa holders on a large scale. There are also several other major companies with H-1B employees.
The developments involving racial remarks, sanctions against Indian companies and proposed changes to H-1B visa rules have brought renewed attention to the treatment of Indian nationals and businesses in the United States.
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