Our Bureau
Washington, DC
Indian American Impact is convening a roundtable bringing together the South Asian members of Congress alongside state and local South Asian elected officials to address the surge in hate and discrimination targeting South Asian American communities across the country.
The convening will be followed by a press availability where participating electeds and Impact leadership will announce commitments and next steps.
WHO:
- U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera, Suhas Subramanyam, and Shri Thanedar
- South Asian state and local elected officials from across the country:
- Jay Chaudhuri, North Carolina State Senator
- Vin Gopal, New Jersey State Senator
- Kannan Srinivasan, Virginia State Senator
- Dr. Darshana Patel, California State Assemblymember
- JJ Singh, Virginia House of Delegates
- Ranjeev Puri, Michigan House of Representatives Minority Leader
- Dr. Suleman Lalani, Texas House of Representatives
- Nina Ahmad, Philadelphia City Councilmember
- Rachna Sizemore Heizer, Fairfax County Braddock District Supervisor
- Chintan Patel, Executive Director, Indian American Impact
- Manju Kulkarni, Co-Founder, Stop AAPI Hate
WHEN:
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2026
Roundtable (closed press): 9:00–10:00 AM
Press Availability: 10:00 AM
WHERE:
U.S. Capitol
Room H.C. 06
Washington, DC
Roundtable is closed press. Press availability is open immediately following.
WHY
South Asian Americans are experiencing a dramatic rise in hate. According to Stop AAPI Hate, 48% of South Asian adults in the U.S. experienced race-based harassment in 2024, a number that has only grown as anti-immigrant rhetoric has escalated from online spaces into mainstream politics.
The incidents are impossible to ignore. On June 3, 2026, a man tore an Indian flag outside Frisco, Texas City Hall while chanting “F*** India” at a far-right anti-immigration rally. A Florida city councilmember called for the deportation of “every Indian” and later called Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi a “foreign occupier.” An Arizona state representative called for Rep. Pramila Jayapal to be “tried, convicted, and hanged.” In Dallas, an Indian American man was beheaded and users in extremist online spaces called him an “H-1B scammer.” In Utah, a man was federally indicted this month for stabbing a Muslim mall employee after asking staff whether they were Muslim. The rise in candidates and elected officials from the community has made them targets, too, as Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and South Asian candidates across the country have endured slander and harassment simply for running for office.
South Asian elected leaders from across the country are coming together to shape a collective response and to fight back.