Mark Mitchell, CEO of Rasmussen Reports, has sparked fresh outrage with remarks targeting Indian H1B visa workers. The controversial pollster, known for Republican-leaning surveys, has said US tech firms should “de-Indianise” their workforce.
“I have never in my life wanted anything more than this: To build a new corporate consultancy helping major firms de-Indianize,” the Donald Trump fanboy posted on social media.
Mitchell has even suggested offering consultancy services to reduce reliance on Indian professionals. On a recent podcast, he compared one H1B worker to 10 illegal immigrants.
“Every single H1B senior developer at Apple that we send back is the equivalent economically, probably, of deporting 10 illegal aliens. So, I don't know why we didn't do that yesterday. Yes, a lot of these people are entry-level. But, a lot of them are making a ton of money,” he said.
“Silicon Valley's got some of the highest real estate, the highest real estate in the entire country. Well, its workforce is roughly two-thirds foreign-born. And, where are most of those people coming from? They're Indians,” he further said.
Mitchell claimed that some Walmart engineering buildings were made up of up to 95% Indian nationals. He alleged that these workers had entered the US through what he called “golden pathways” and took up such jobs.
He further argued that this practice was used for ageism. According to him, companies rely on a steady supply of younger engineers from developing countries.
“People like me who have a family, who are a little more expensive, maybe I've gotten a few raises, my health insurance is a little more expensive. It’s really easy to replace me and have me train my replacement,” Mitchell added.
The comments have triggered strong backlash from Indian diaspora groups. Commentators in both the United States and India have accused Mitchell of racism and xenophobia.
Social media reactions
“Fact check: H1Bs are just 500,000, or 0.3% of the US workforce. Only 70% are from India. Mark Mitchell is outright lying for social media views,” commented one of them.
“I want a million dollars for a job that an H1B will do for 150k. Wonders why he doesn’t get hired,” quipped another.
One of them made a Nazi reference, “Yeah. The National Socialist Party in Germany in the 1930s also wanted to remove Jews from business. Sounds familiar.”
“No one will hire you! Unfortunately for you, hate is not a competency major firms look for,” came a sarcastic remark.
One Twitter (now X) user posted, “Lmao, this guy thinks he’s a hotshot, but nope, he is an old fit-for-nothing crook who twists polls for money.”
“One big charade. These big tech companies have lost touch with reality. They don’t realise how “fragile” they really are. One shift in the American mood, and any of them could be easily wiped out in a week,” came from another.
