Frisco residents divided over H-1B visas, ‘Indian takeover’ at council meeting

The podium at Frisco City Hall became a soapbox for residents to speak about H-1B visas, immigration and belonging to a packed house at a recent meeting. The uncharacteristic turnout was prompted by social media posts urging people to address an “Indian takeover” of the city.

Frisco City Council members don’t have authority over the federally controlled H-1B visa program, but it is a hot topic in Texas. Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas universities and state agencies cannot initiate or file for new H-1B visas until May 31, 2027, so state lawmakers can create “guardrails” for the program. Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he was opening an investigation into three North Texas businesses in light of reports that some companies have been advertising nonexistent products and registering single-family homes as “ghost offices” in order to sponsor H-1B visas that allow workers to live in the United States.

The state leaders’ announcements underscore an increased scrutiny of legal immigration pathways alongside the rise of deportations of undocumented immigrants under the Trump administration.

City leaders struck a unifying tone. Mayor Jeff Cheney said he was proud of city efforts to celebrate different cultural festivals including Holi, a Hindu religious holiday that many Indian American residents celebrate.

“Other than a handful of native Frisconians … Every one of us is from somewhere else,” Cheney said. “When you choose to call Frisco home … it will always be our mission that you feel welcome here and you feel safe here.”

Marc Palasciano, the Richardson activist who posted about the council meeting on X, is a critic of H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to hire foreigners for jobs requiring specialized knowledge. In fiscal 2024, 71% of H-1B visas issued nationwide went to Indian applicants, according to federal data. Palasciano and his supporters say H-1B workers have taken jobs away from deserving Americans and fueled unwelcome demographic shifts in North Texas.

Frisco, which was one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities in the 2010s, grew from about 33,828 residents in 2000 to more than 230,000 by 2024, according to the city’s economic development corporation. With that came large demographic shifts. In 2000, Asians constituted about 2.32% of Frisco’s population, and today, they make up 33.6% of the population, according to city data. Over the last decade, the population of Asian students in Frisco ISD rose from around 18% to 44% while the percentage of white students declined, Texas Education Agency data shows.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the issue hit close to home as South Asian residents challenged generalizations made about their community. Speakers opposed to the H-1B program, some wearing hats with the slogan “America First”, talked about how the program harmed their economic prospects and neighborhoods.

Palasciano said he found it suspicious that there was a growing number of small businesses in Frisco owned by people of Indian origin employing Indian H-1B workers, especially in light of Paxton’s investigation.

“There’s potential visa fraud here,” Palasciano said.

Dylan Law said the immigrants moving to North Texas on H-1B visas have caused schools to be overcrowded and are changing the character of the region.

“When lifelong residents voice concern, we’re told our discomfort is bigotry,” Law said. “Temporary visas are only temporary until loopholes like birthright citizenship are exploited and roots take hold through chain migration.”

Law urged the audience to take Paxton’s investigation into H-1B visas seriously. He said the program has created income inequality because the annual median income for Indian-American families was more than $150,000 in 2023, higher than the median income for other racial groups. Median household income for all Americans was $82,690 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“H-1B visas are sold as importing the best and brightest,” Law said. “In reality, the system is riddled with fraud and bloat … it displaces American workers.”

Muni Janagarajan spoke about how Indian Americans like himself view Frisco as a place to invest long term and contribute positively.

“When we buy homes … we are not just buying the real estate,” Janagarajan said. “We are funding the world-class parks … and Frisco ISD, one of the top-rated school districts in Texas that benefits every child in the city.”

Though Indian Americans make up about 1.6% of the U.S. population, they pay a disproportionate share of taxes. A 2024 report by the San Francisco nonprofit Indiaspora and the Boston Consulting Group estimated Indian Americans contribute about $300 billion, or 5%, of federal taxes.

Shanthan Toodi, a veteran and Indian American who was previously deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, said it hurt to have to defend his right to belong in the city.

Toodi said perpetrators of H-1B fraud should be held accountable. However, he said he disagreed with activists framing the issue as an “Indian takeover.”

“When entire ethnic communities are spoken about as a problem … we stop talking about policy and we start drifting into collective blame,” Toodi said.

Burt Thakur, the city’s first Indian American council member who ran for Congress as a Republican in 2024, urged residents to remember what they have in common — a love of America.

“I understand there’s a lot of people who are upset the American Dream has been stolen from … you,” Thakur said. “Everybody in this room is full of love … we may approach it in a different way, but we’re [all] Americans.”

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