The Impact of Trump’s Second Term on South Asian Communities: A Conversation with Pranay Somayajula on BBC Sounds
As Donald Trump begins his second term, his administration’s policies are already sparking concerns among immigrant communities, including South Asian Americans. From controversial executive orders targeting immigration and birthright citizenship to shifting geopolitical alliances with India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, the landscape is rapidly evolving. In this interview, Pranay Somayajula, Director of Organizing and Advocacy at Hindus for Human Rights, discusses the divided reactions within South Asian communities, the potential consequences of Trump's immigration policies, and the broader implications for U.S.-South Asia relations.
Amir Suleman BBC
Amir with you now, it's been a busy first week back in office for President Donald Trump, with a flurry of executive orders Downing Street, says sir Keir Starmer and the US President Donald Trump have spoken on the phone yesterday. Let's find out what effect President Donald Trump's executive orders will have on South Asian communities in America, and a bit on the geopolitics of us, relationships with India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pranay Ssomayajula is the director of organizing and advocacy at Hindus for human rights, a US based non profit group that advocates for pluralism and inclusive democracy in India and abroad. Pranay, good evening to you, actually, what time is it where you are
Pranay Somayajula
in the middle of the afternoon? So good afternoon and good evening.
Amir Suleman BBC
Thank you very much. Good afternoon to you. Thank you for joining us. Now. How has the community reacted? Pranay after Donald Trump has become their president?
Pranay Somayajula
Well, you know, I mean, within South Asian American communities, like in every community, the reactions have been quite divided. On the one hand, you know, we're a minority in this country, and we remember the racism, the white supremacy, the xenophobia, the bigotry that we experienced during Trump's first term in office in 2016 onwards, and we've already gotten a taste of that in these last few weeks with this really vile wave of anti Indian racism, both online and offline, that we've seen from the Maga movement amid this controversy over h, 1b visas for tech workers, so many in our communities are rightfully, I think, very scared about what the next four years of a Trump administration will bring. At the same time, though, we've also seen a growing segment of our communities, specifically in the Hindu American community in particular, that is increasingly right wing, or even far right, and that is aligning itself at embracing the Trump administration and its Make America Great Again agenda in ways that we at Hindus for human rights find deeply concerning and very short sighted. Okay,
Amir Suleman BBC
so there's some quite concerning remarks there from you in terms of the reaction to his presidency. How will immigrant communities be affected? Do you think,
Pranay Somayajula
I think across the board, both South Asian and non South Asian, this administration is going to be disastrous for immigrant communities, but particularly within South Asian American community. American communities. You know, there's many ways in which the immigration policy of the Trump administration is going to be harmful. First, I think it's important to remember, although we don't often talk about it, that Indians make up the third largest group of undocumented immigrants in the United States. So when Trump is talking about mass deportations, you know, immigration raids on undocumented workers and so on is many members of our communities who are going to be affected by that, including at the southern border, but even among those of us in our communities who have legal immigration status, who are here on different types of visas and so on, there are many policies that are going to harm us as well. There's been talk of restricting the h 1v visa program that many Indian immigrants rely on the executive order that Trump signed last week overturning birthright citizenship affects the children, not only of undocumented immigrants, but of documented immigrants who are here on visa status as well, and so across the board, in South Asian American communities, documented and undocumented, there is a lot of fear Right now about what the immigration policies of this administration are going to bring for them
Amir Suleman BBC
and other organizations out there that are trying to alleviate these concerns. I mean, it's difficult to do that if it's what to happen. But you know, who are our communities out there talking to? Are they? Are they trying to seek professional advice and gain clarity,
Pranay Somayajula
absolutely. I mean, it's hard to even name because there's just such a wide and rich constellation of organizations at the national level, but also at the local level in cities across the country that are working deeply within communities and all sorts of immigrant communities, not just South Asian ones, to make sure people know their rights. Know. What do you do with immigration agents come knocking your door at your workplace. What are the rights that you have as a visa holder or an undocumented immigrant? People are really going out of their way right now to take care of each other, make sure their communities feel protected and safe, and that's been very heartening to see. Yeah,
Amir Suleman BBC
you touched on this just now because it is one of his boldest moves, which was an attempt to end, as you say, birthright citizenship for those born to undocumented immigrants. What do you make of this as a move?
Pranay Somayajula
I mean, I think it is absolutely unconscionable. It morally and ethically but also legally. I think it's important to remember this is a blatantly unconstitutional move. In fact, a federal judge said as much when issuing a ruling last week that temporarily halted this order. The constitution is very it's crystal clear. I mean, even as someone who's not a lawyer myself, it makes it very clear, if you are born on American soil, you are a US citizen, full stop, end of story. And the President does not have the power to rewrite the Constitution. And so I can, you know, I'm very, I'm hopeful that the courts would. Will stop this policy, but the fact that Trump has even gone so far as to try and make this happen is deeply concerning. And again, it's important to remember this affects the children of documented immigrants as well. They are included in this order, and so this is a really wide ranging and extremely dangerous policy that has the potential to rewrite what it means to be an American in very harmful ways.
Amir Suleman BBC
Okay, let's talk a little bit about geopolitics. What kind of relationship will he have? Do you think with the South Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh?
Pranay Somayajula
You know, obviously the landscape has changed, but we've gotten a taste of what this might look like from looking at his first term in office, when Trump developed a very close relationship with India's government, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is very similar to Trump in terms of being this right wing populist, authoritarian, strong man figure. And so I think we have every indication that relationship is going to only deepen, both politically and ideologically but also geopolitically. You know, Trump has taken an increasingly antagonistic stance towards China, and I think India provides a very convenient counterweight in that part of the world to the US government, from that perspective, and sort of alongside that, I think as that US India partnership deepens under Trump, I think we're likely to see a more strained relationship with both Pakistan and Bangladesh in its first term, Trump was very critical of Pakistan, calling them, you know, a safe haven for terrorists and all sorts of things. Of course, India has a strong interest in the US pulling away from Pakistan as well. Similarly, with Bangladesh, since the ouster of Sheik Hasina last year, India's relationship with Bangladesh has deteriorated as well. And I think we're going to see more pressure, both from India's government diplomatically, but also from the pro India lobby here in the US on Trump to deepen ties with India and pull away from
Amir Suleman BBC
Bangladesh. Very interesting. Yeah. Time will tell what transpires. Just finally, Trump has pulled the US out of the World Health Organization, another bold move. What were your thoughts on that and what may happen next. You think any thoughts
Pranay Somayajula
a bold move, and frankly, I think a stupid one. I mean, it is. We know from the COVID pandemic that we lived through just a few years ago that viruses, pandemics, illnesses, they don't respect borders, they don't respect national sovereignty. These are global crises that require international cooperation to be prepared against them, and the World Health Organization is one of the most important, the most important avenue for that sort of international cooperation. The fact that Trump has wants to pull the US out of it, and remains to be seen how I think substantive that withdrawal will actually be. But regardless, the fact that that's even on the table and being talked about is very dangerous, especially now we're hearing more news reports right about the rising threat of bird flu and other diseases. I think pandemic prevention, I think, you know, being prepared for mass public health emergencies. These are all really important things right now, and in that regard, pulling out of the World Health Organization is absolutely a step in the wrong direction.
Amir Suleman BBC
Pranay Somayajula, thank you so much for joining us. He's Director of organizing and advocacy at Hindus for human rights. If you've got any thoughts on that story and that conversation, do get in touch. Please. You can WhatsApp. Oh, 8000 321, triple, three. Just start your message in the usual way. Suleman, you.