New York: Seattle University’s Roundglass India Center is launching a webinar series in February 2025, bringing together scholars, policy experts, and political leaders to examine how Trump’s second administration could reshape the landscape for Indian Americans and US-India relations.
As Donald Trump returned to the White House, Indian Americans find themselves at a critical juncture. From immigration policies to affirmative action and health care, the community is increasingly at the center of national political debates. The webinar will address these pressing issues.
In a time when trust in mainstream news is increasingly questioned, our webinar series offers a space for thoughtful and expert-driven discussion to educate and empower our community with actionable insights,” said Sital Kalantry, founding director of the Roundglass India Center and Associate Dean at Seattle University Law School.
The series kicks off on Feb.13 with a discussion on the evolving challenges of immigration.
Indian Americans, the largest beneficiaries of H-1B visas, now face a backlog that leaves thousands in limbo, unable to change jobs while waiting decades for permanent residency. According to Roundglass, a surprising trend has emerged: illegal immigration from India to the US has surged, with nearly 100,000 Indians being apprehended at the US border between October 2022 and September 2023. The Trump campaign has promised mass deportations and further restrictions on visas, raising questions about the future of both legal and undocumented Indian immigrants.
Speakers for this panel include Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute and Jeff Lande, an expert on high-skill immigration and outsourcing policies.
The panel will examine whether Trump’s administration will address rising medical costs, the impact of NIH funding cuts on health research, and the future of reproductive rights. Speakers include Vin Gupta, pulmonologist and medical analyst for NBC, and Seema Mohapatra, a health law expert from Southern Methodist University.
