USA / Hate letter threatens to shoot Indian and Chinese techies in US, probe on

Texas: The police department in Irving, Texas is investigating a racist letter threatening violence against Indian and Chinese workers, received by a member of the community, officials stated on Tuesday. “We take harassment and hate crime extremely serious,” the police stated in a Facebook post.  

The letter, which had “Return Back to Your Country” written in bold, appeared to target Indians and Chinese who have purportedly taken jobs from American citizens in the IT industry and other professional fields. It threatened to “shoot mercilessly” at places of work, playgrounds and pools. The letter also had a number of grammatical errors. 

According to police, the letter was sent to a resident of Irving, Texas, and that so far, it was being treated as an isolated incident. It was not immediately known to whom the letter was sent to. 

“***holes, American citizens in IT industry and other professional fields have lost their jobs to many Indians and Chinese. We asked you to leave the country without further delay. We will have no choice but to shoot mercilessly at work place, in community, on pool or on playground [sic],” the letter stated. 

The police requested the public to contact the investigating officer if further information on the letter was available: ccunningham@cityofirving.org. 

Irving, Texas is home to many members of the Indian community. 

In the wake of high unemployment rates in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, major restrictions have been placed on H-1B workers in the US, a majority of whom are Indian. President Donald Trump ordered the suspension of issuance of new visas until the end of the year. Many Indians, who had returned to India to renew their visas, were left stranded though they had families and jobs in the US. Some of the restrictions have since been lifted. 

The relaxations announced by the State Department said that H-1B and L-1 visas can now be issued for employees who are seeking to resume ongoing employment in the United States in the same position with the same employer and visa classification. All those on H-1B visas working in the healthcare sector, especially those related to the COVID-19 pandemic, or to conduct ongoing medical research in an area with a substantial public health benefit are also exempted from the travel ban. There are, however, caveats to the relaxations.

Indians in the US have been targeted in acts of racism earlier as well. On February 22, 2017, Sririnvas Kuchibhotla, an Indian techie, was shot and killed in Olathe, Kansas by Adam Purinton. He reportedly yelled “get out of my country” and “terrorist” to Srinivas and another Indian, Alok Madasani, who was injured in the attack.