An old video of Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas has resurfaced online, where he says Texas will remain a welcoming place for the Indian community for as long as he is in office. The clip is now going viral at a time when social media is already flooded with posts and videos pushing claims that Indians are taking over the state, adding fresh fuel to an already charged narrative.
The resurfaced clip has also been widely shared with an additional context. Several users claimed that Greg Abbott made the remarks in response to a recent controversy around Hindus observing Chhath Puja in Texas, amplifying the narrative online.
Influencer Kaylee Campbell reposted the video, writing, “Greg Abbott declares Texas a place for the Indian community, what about Texans Greg? Where do we go?” She also questioned the intent behind the statement, adding, “What do they have on Greg to make him say this.”
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However, the video itself is not recent and predates the current debate. It is from a Diwali celebration, where Abbott can be heard saying, “As long as I am governor of this great state, Texas will be a land for the Indian community…and we will continue to celebrate Diwali here in the great state of Texas.”
Republican leader Alexander Duncan reshared the post, wrote, “What a disgrace @GregAbbott_TX is. Pandering to every third-world culture there is and not doing a thing to protect Texas: ‘Texas will be a land for Indians’”
The backlash against Greg Abbott comes at a time when many Indian Americans say they are witnessing a rise in hostile rhetoric, particularly in Texas, which is home to a large immigrant population, including a significant number of Indians. Social media has seen a surge in posts from Texas-based influencers pushing the idea of an “Indian takeover,” often tying it to claims of H-1B visa misuse.
One of the most widely circulated examples is a video by YouTuber Tyler Oliveira, titled “I Exposed Texas’ Indian Invasion…,” which drew hundreds of thousands of views within its first day. The video focuses on Frisco, a suburb that has seen rapid growth in its Indian American population over the past two decades, reshaping neighborhoods, schools, and the local economy.
Oliveira’s video zeroes in on IT staffing firms, many of them Indian-owned, alleging the existence of “ghost offices.” He visits addresses linked to visa filings and claims to find empty spaces, shared offices, or locations without a visible workforce, using these observations to question hiring practices.
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The narrative has been amplified by other viral clips as well. A recent video from Frisco showing Indian American residents performing traditional folk dances in public spaces has sparked fresh debate. The city itself has undergone a dramatic transformation, growing from a small town of fewer than 5,000 residents in 1990 to an estimated 235,000 people today, with Asians now making up roughly 27 to 28 percent of the population, largely driven by opportunities in the tech sector.
Critics on social media have used such visuals to argue that demographic shifts point to an “Indian takeover” and potential threats to local jobs. Many of these claims are also being linked to ongoing state-level scrutiny around alleged H-1B visa fraud, including investigations into so-called ghost office setups, further fueling an already polarized conversation.