15 hours ago
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Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan’s appointment as Senior Policy Advisor on Artificial Intelligence in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, a viral dataset has reignited discussions on the success of minority groups in the US.
The data comes as a response to accusations from some users who claim that Indian immigrants, like Krishnan, are "exploiting" the US labor market.
The dataset, which has also been shared by Elon Musk, reveals the economic success of several minority communities, with Indian Americans leading the pack. Their median household income of $126,705 is nearly double that of White Americans, who earn $69,823.
The dataset, sourced from the American Community Survey, highlights the economic contributions of immigrant groups in the US Taiwanese Americans and Filipino Americans follow Indian Americans with median household incomes of $102,405 and $100,273, respectively. Indonesian Americans ($93,501), Pakistani Americans ($87,509), and Iranian Americans ($87,288) also out-earn White Americans. This underscores the significant role immigrant communities play in driving economic growth, particularly in high-skilled sectors like technology and medicine.
This data comes amid a wave of criticism directed at Krishnan by far-right groups, particularly from activist Laura Loomer. Loomer voiced concerns about Krishnan’s appointment, claiming it runs counter to Trump’s “America First” agenda, especially in light of Krishnan’s past advocacy for removing country-specific caps on green cards. “How will we control immigration and promote America First innovation when Trump appoints someone who wants to REMOVE all restrictions on
green card caps
?” Loomer questioned on X, sparking anti-Indian and anti-immigrant rhetoric online.
In response to these attacks, Krishnan has garnered support from industry leaders like Musk and Sacks. Musk refuted the criticisms, dismissing them as a result of the “fixed pie” fallacy, saying, “There is essentially infinite potential for job and company creation.”
Sacks, who will work with Krishnan on
AI policy
, emphasized that Krishnan supports a merit-based immigration system and aims to shorten wait times for green cards, particularly for Indian nationals.
The controversy has also reignited debates around the
H-1B visa program
and the country-specific caps that create significant backlogs for countries like India. In 2023, Indian nationals accounted for 72% of H-1B visa approvals, highlighting their central role in the US high-skilled workforce. However, these country caps limit their access to permanent residency, with some facing wait times of over a decade for green cards.
Congressman Ro Khanna has also defended Krishnan, pointing out the hypocrisy in attacking Indian immigrants while ignoring the foreign-born backgrounds of figures like Musk and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
