Rising Anti-South Asian Hate and the Growing Political Power of Texans

“I didn’t run to have to sit here and combat anti-Indian hate. I didn’t know that this was going to be a thing,” Pooja Sethi remarked to roughly 50 south Asians assembled for a private community gathering regarding anti-south Asian hate in Austin, highlighting an environment of mounting animosity that has sparked an unprecedented political drive across Texas.

The anti-south Asian sentiment intensified sharply after Donald Trump took office, fueled by online rhetoric that the Center for the Study of Organized Hate (CSOH) reported surged by 240% between January 2024 and June 2026.

Viral Harassment and the Fight for Representation in Texas

Sethi experienced this hostile environment firsthand last winter while canvassing to become the Democratic candidate for the Texas house of representatives. A staff member alerted her to a post on X by Turning Point USA influencer Savanah Hernandez, a Trump supporter known for targeting immigrants, which featured a photo of Sethi’s campaign banner alongside the caption: “Welcome to politics in Texas.”

The post went viral and generated online abuse so severe that Sethi left the campaign trail to be with her family. Far-right commentators even coined a racist slogan targeting her name. If elected, Sethi will make history as the first Asian Democratic woman and south Asian woman in the Texas legislature. “I didn’t run to have to sit here and combat anti-Indian hate. I didn’t know that this was going to be a thing,” Sethi stated while addressing an intimate community meeting of about 50 south Asians gathered in Austin to discuss anti-south Asian hostility.

Texas holds the second-largest population of south Asians in the United States, with more than 600,000 residents recorded in 2021 US census estimates. According to Chanda Parbhoo, founder and executive director of the nonpartisan voter engagement nonprofit South Asian American Voter Empowerment of Texas Education Fund (SAAVETX EF), the state has transformed into “ground zero” for anti-south Asian hostility.

Escalating Rhetoric from Public Officials and State Agencies

Elected officials and state agencies have increasingly amplified xenophobic messaging ahead of the midterm elections. In September, the Department of Homeland Security posted an AI-generated image on X depicting a Sikh man facing off against a character resembling Optimus Prime from Transformers, accompanied by the caption: “America for Americans. Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr. Singh.” The agency deleted the image following widespread public backlash.

Days later, Bo French, the Republican candidate for the Texas railroad commission, shared an image of what appeared to be predominantly south Asian American UT Austin students celebrating a football victory, adding the caption: “I heard UT graduation this year look like this, I didn’t believe it, the problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”

This mainstreaming of political rhetoric frequently precedes physical violence. Chintan Patel, executive director of Indian American Impact, noted that online discrimination inexorably forces its way into the physical foreground.

State-level policies in Texas have mirrored this hardline approach. Republican governor Greg Abbott and Texas attorney general Ken Paxton have targeted Muslim civil rights groups and launched investigations into unsubstantiated claims of H1-B visa fraud, an inquiry that disproportionately affects Indian immigrants. In the legislature, Republican representative Brent Money established a “Sharia Free Texas Caucus,” building upon a national framework started by Texas congressmen Keith Self and Chip Roy in 2025.

Surge in ICE Enforcement and Community Impact

According to a 2026 survey by Stop AAPI Hate Action, ICE deportations of south Asians are roughly 14 times higher under Trump’s second term. By July, Texas accounted for nearly a third of all nationwide ICE arrests, representing the largest share of any state.

Texas state representative Salman Bhojani, who immigrated from Pakistan as a teenager and became one of the first Muslims and south Asians in the state legislature in 2022, described the current atmosphere as unprecedented. “The hate that’s happening right now is more than anything that I’ve seen. More than during 9/11,” Bhojani told the Guardian. He added that he receives near-daily calls from constituents reporting family members detained by ICE or loved ones targeted on college campuses for wearing a hijab.

Voter Mobilization Amid Political Disenfranchisement

Despite representing one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in Texas, south Asian voters have historically felt overlooked by major political parties. SAAVETX EF partnered with the US Immigration Policy Center at the University of California, San Diego, to release the Belonging Under Pressure: 2026 South Asian Community Survey. The poll of approximately 1,000 south Asian Texans revealed that 57.5% experienced at least one instance of hate over the past year due to race, ethnicity, religion, or immigration background.

Also, 63.7% of respondents reported that elected officials do not understand their community’s concerns, and 53.6% believe they hold little to no political power. Yet, this alienation has galvanized civic participation rather than apathy. Tom Wong, associate professor of political science and director of the US Immigration Policy Center at UCSD, noted that high voter motivation to organize and mobilize is challenging traditional assumptions about political agency.

Early voting data indicates a significant surge in turnout. By 26 October, one week into early voting, south Asian Texans had already surpassed their total voter turnout from the 2022 midterm elections. Advocates emphasize that in competitive races decided by razor-thin margins—such as Bhojani’s 2018 municipal victory by just 37 votes—multiracial coalitions and mobilized minority blocs hold the decisive edge needed to change the state’s political makeup.