Washington, Sep 14 — Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has condemned a Texas Republican politician’s social media post targeting South Asian students celebrating their university’s football victory.
Krishnamoorthi described the post by Bo French, a Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, as racist and xenophobic.
French posted photographs of South Asian students celebrating a University of Texas Longhorns football victory, according to a statement issued by the congressman’s office.
He portrayed the students’ presence as evidence that Americans were being “displaced by foreigners,” the statement said.
The post prompted criticism from Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat and one of the most prominent Indian American members of the US Congress.
“Bo French’s xenophobic hate toward South Asian students is disgraceful and part of a broader rise in attacks targeting South Asian Americans across the country,” Krishnamoorthi said.
“These young people were cheering for their university, and he chose to demonise them based solely on how they look,” he added.
Krishnamoorthi said South Asian Americans had the same standing as every other community in the United States.
“South Asian Americans are as American as anyone, and this kind of hatred has no place in our politics or our country,” he said.
The congressman also responded directly to French on social media.
The episode comes amid increased concern among Indian American and other South Asian organisations about hostile political rhetoric directed at their communities.
It is the second time in a matter of days that Krishnamoorthi has publicly criticised social media content that he said targeted South Asian Americans.
On September 10, he condemned an official Department of Homeland Security social media post featuring a man identified as “Mr. Singh” in a deportation-themed graphic.
That graphic told the man to “get off our roads” and warned him to “self-deport or find out,” according to Krishnamoorthi’s earlier statement.
The congressman said at the time that the government should not suggest that a person’s faith, heritage or identity meant that they did not belong in the United States.
Krishnamoorthi was born in New Delhi and raised in the United States. He represents Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of the Chicago suburbs and has a substantial Asian American population.