Thanks to Bo French’s racist social media post targeting the ethnicity of students celebrating the University of Texas at Austin’s football win, Texas again is making national and local headlines for anti-South Asian racism. But the state also holds the potential to lead the fight against anti-Asian racism and become a model for the nation. I am a scholar of Asian America who proudly grew up in Texas and has written about Asians in the state. Given our history and our resources, what could be more Texan than, “Don’t mess with (Asians in) Texas?”
Driven in part by economic issues, resentments towards South Asians have reached a fever pitch in the Lone Star State. Conservative Texas politicians and residents have alleged that the H-1B visa program, which lets in highly skilled professionals to work in roles employers have had difficulty filling, is being abused. Because over 70 percent of visa holders are Indian, anger over the program has led to racism against Indians generally and calls for restricting immigration programs specifically.
