Kamal Ghorui
A viral social media post claiming Dallas is being turned into “Dallaspuram” has stirred a row over immigration and H1B visas after old festival footage resurfaced online.The post, shared by X user @CyberGreen09 shows a lively Ganesh Chaturthi procession in a Dallas area suburb. People dressed in traditional Indian attire can be seen playing dhol and tasha drums in what appears to be a shopping centre car park.The caption reads: “Dallas is being transformed into ‘Dallaspuram’ before our eyes.”It adds and blames the visa system for such an environment: “H1B visas are being used to import Indians for basic jobs Texans can do. These guys aren’t top global talent, it’s industrial fraud destroying our great state. Time to put Texans first and end the H1B program!”However, the video is not recent. The clip dates back to August 2025 and was filmed during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations outside India Bazaar in Lewisville, a northern suburb of Dallas with a large Indian community. The footage first went viral last year. Hindu Americans described it as a joyful annual cultural celebration but the MAGA base complained it caused disruption and ruckus in a commercial parking area.The same video had been repurposed in online debate about immigration and the H1B visa programme which is under high scrutiny right now. Far right commentator and anti-H1B speaker Andrew Branca also reposted the video and said: “W**, America. Was this what our Founders envisioned?”The Dallas Fort Worth metro area is home to more than 250,000 Indian Americans. Many live in suburbs such as Frisco, Plano and Lewisville, which have grown into major technology and business hubs. In 2024, around 71 per cent of approved H1B visas went to Indian nationals, according to federal data.A lot of American employers and bussinessmen say skilled migration has boosted the local economy and strengthene crucial sectors like tech and defence. The ‘America First’ supporters says the system is flawed and steals jobs from domestic US workers and hands them to Indians and Chinese workers on a much lower salary.Similar tensions surfaced at a Frisco city council meeting few days ago, where some residents voiced fears of an “Indian takeover” in the region.
