Indian-Origin Influencer Faces Heat Over Anti-Immigration Video

Indian-origin US-based influencer Priya Patel was trolled for her controversial remarks against immigration. Despite her Indian ancestry, Patel, a pro-MAGA influencer took a firm anti-immigration stance and shared a video stating: “This is your friendly reminder that immigration without assimilation is invasion. Got it?” The video gained traction and went viral, clocking around 30 million views in X (Twitter).

Her statement that some cultures are inferior was questioned and some critics termed it hypocrisy and urged her to quit the country.

With the video going viral, she was invited to the Piers Morgan Uncensored show and questioned about her stance on immigration visa-a-vis her Indian roots. When Morgan questioned her on cultural conformity and she replied that she found no reason for an individual to migrate to America without assimilating American culture but bringing their culture into America and implement them here.

Morgan continued to question her about her parents and their ancestry. She admitted that her statement could sound provocative from somebody with a surname Patel. However, she tried to skirt a question on her father saying that he is from England.

On Morgan being persistent with Priya’s ancestry, she admitted that her father immigrated to the US as a young boy and was from England actually, but not India. He was born in Uganda, moved to England when he was three years old, after the dictator Idi Amin chased out all Indians. Later, he moved to the US when he was in his teens, she said.

Morgan did not leave the point and asked: “So is your father part Indian?” and Priya was then forced to admit that her father is “full Indian”.

However, at a time when many members of the Indian diaspora are already facing targeted criticism and scrutiny in certain parts of the United States, Patel’s remarks did not go down well with many Indians.

Considering her own Indian-origin background, several critics felt that her strong anti-immigration stance and comments about cultural assimilation appeared contradictory and insensitive to the struggles faced by immigrant communities.