In the aftermath of the deadly Kansas shooting of Indian-born engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an immigration reform advocacy website that features photos and a video of Indian families relaxing in suburban Columbus, Ohio, has Indian immigrant communities across the country worried, with some unwilling to travel outside the towns where they live.
The site, SaveAmericanITJobs.org, argues that immigrants in the US on work visas are a threat to US tech jobs. Created and maintained by a 66-year-old computer programmer from Virginia named Steve Pushor, it has been circulating on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, and email all week.
Bhavin Bavalia, an American-born IT professional and the son of Indian immigrants, said he first came across the site when a friend shared it on Facebook “It’s very scary for me knowing that I have a lot of family in these small Indian communities,” he said. “To think that there could be some weirdo filming my cousin’s kids as they’re playing at the park, and possibly fomenting resentment towards them, is just disturbing.”
