Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has acknowledged that his rhetoric was ‘imperfect’ after referring to foreign professionals on H-1B visas as ‘indentured servants’.
He also clarified that he was referring to US companies and the visa system, not H-1B visa holders.
India had strongly objected to the language used to describe foreign professionals, calling the terminology ‘deeply offensive’ and saying it carried painful historical and colonial legacy connotations.
Speaking at a CBS News town hall event on Saturday, Vance insisted that his criticism targeted the visa system, which he said gives employers too much power over foreign employees who risk being sent back to their countries of origin if they lose their jobs.
“I would say, and to the extent that my rhetoric has been imperfect here, that's on me,” Vance said in response to a question from an Indian immigrant who became a US citizen five years ago and voted for US President Donald Trump.
The vice president said his comments were “not a criticism of the H-1B holder”.
“...Is when they come in on an H-1B, they're very often coming in, and the company is certifying that they're doing a job that they can't find an alternative American labour applicant for. And importantly, their visa is their only lifeline to the United States of America. So when I say an indentured servant, that's not a criticism of the H-1B visa holder. That's a criticism of a company that brings a person in,” Vance said.
“It's a criticism of the visa system that allows people to be treated effectively as indentured servants that can be shipped back to their country of origin,” Vance said.
He also mentioned his South Indian in-laws while calling for a balance between welcoming foreign professionals and protecting American workers.
“You know where my family comes from, and I love my mother-in-law and father-in-law who immigrated from South India, and obviously their daughter, born in the United States of America, is now the second lady, and I’m very proud of her, and I love her very much.”
His wife, Usha Vance, is the daughter of Indian immigrants.
“I will tell you that nobody's perfect, certainly not me. But my goal here is not to dehumanise any immigrant, and in fact, I love a number of immigrants,” Vance said.
Earlier this month, Vance had referred to foreign workers on H-1B visas as ‘foreign indentured servants’ and described companies using the programme as ‘visa mills’.
He has argued that the programme allows companies to bring in foreign workers at lower wages, potentially disadvantaging American workers.
Indian professionals account for over 70 per cent of all approved H-1B petitions annually.
