Kamal Ghorui
A social media spat between Indian-American leaders over H-1B visas has gained more attention when Stephen Horn, a former January 6 rioter and journalist, reacted to it. Horn commented on X, saying: “Hindu Indians are big mad that a Christian Indian isn’t using his position in American politics to shill for more Indians. Refraining from organizing along ethnic lines is the bare minimum we must expect from foreigners in our country.”The dispute began when Texas GOP chairman Abraham George, who is of Indian origin, called for an end to the H-1B visa programme, describing it as full of fraud and displacing American workers. “It has to stop. We must make it a legislative priority of the Texas GOP to rid our state of H-1Bs and put Texans first. #AmericaFirst,” George wrote on X.The Indian-American Advocacy Council founder Sidharth responded that George ignored the rise in xenophobic hate targeting Indian-Americans in Texas, an inherently Red state. He wrote: “Are you scared you’ll get deported?” George replied, prompting Sidharth to retort: “Are you kidding me? Your response to take a responsible statement on the rampant racism against Indians is this?” The tensions flared amid a crackdown on H-1B visa use in Texas. State authorities have frozen H-1B hiring in state agencies and universities, and investigations are ongoing into three H-1B staffing firms.
Who is Stephen Horn?
Stephen Horn self-identifies as an independent journalist and runs The Triangle Trumpet on Substack. He is known for covering the January 6 events. He was arrested in April 2021 for entering the US Capitol during the breach, convicted on four misdemeanours in September 2023, and sentenced in January 2024 to 12 months of probation, a $2,000 fine, and 90 hours of community service.
