Jacob Vaughn
Audio By Carbonatix
A dozen speakers — clad in “America First” hats, sweaters covered in the Punisher skull logo that has become associated with far-right groups and Confederate flags — spoke to a full City Council chamber in Frisco Tuesday evening to rage against supposed fraud linked to the H-1B visa and the “Indian takeover” plaguing the city.
The speeches were part of a social media campaign aimed at addressing the “flood of foreigners” that has come to Frisco in recent years. A video posted to X by conservative influencer Kaylee Campbell urged disgruntled North Texans to attend the council meeting and speak about the “massive takeover” of Indians in Frisco. The video has been viewed more than 370,000 times.
“Frisco is changing at a speed that no community can absorb without damage … When lifelong residents voice concern, we are told our concern is bigotry. That is a lie,” said Dylan Law, a University of North Texas student from Frisco. “Parents are watching their children become foreigners in classrooms that their tax dollars paid for.”
It is true that Frisco’s demographics have rapidly changed in recent years. According to a city-released 2026 population overview, 33% of Frisco’s residents are Asian, up from 26% in 2020 and 10% in 2010.
This influx of primarily Indian households to Collin County has been a talking point along the fringes of conservative, North Texas-based social media circles for months, but was brought to the mainstream in recent weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott announced a freeze on H-1B visas, a federal program that allows employers to hire workers from outside the U.S., typically for technical or research-based jobs. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reports that nearly 75% of H-1B visas are issued to individuals from India.
Claims of widespread H-1B visa fraud are unsubstantiated. Still, speakers on Tuesday accused the Frisco City Council of remaining complicit despite the deceit they believe is being committed by the town’s Indian population. Richard Abernathy, a Frisco city attorney, said the city has no control or involvement in the H-1B program, which the Department of Homeland Security administers.
On Jan. 28, Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a probe into three North Texas businesses that he believes may be scamming the visa process. Some speakers urged the City Council to request that Paxton further investigate Frisco-area businesses and to pass an ordinance requiring local businesses to comply with probes by the Department of Homeland Security to weed out fraud.
“It’s not a coincidence that Frisco’s Indian population exploded … and there’s visa fraud here,” said Marc Palasciano, a self-proclaimed “whistleblower” who has frequented Frisco City Council meetings to speak on the issue. “Frisco needs to wake up. Soon your entire City Council could be Indian.”
A majority of those who spoke against Frisco’s Indian population were not from Frisco. Their talking points were often similar to those that have been used this year by far-right influencers in Minnesota who have perpetuated a conspiracy of widespread social services fraud amongst the state’s Somali community. Allegations that illegitimate child care centers are profiting from government subsidies have driven those content creators to swarm Minnesota’s immigrant-run daycares armed with cameras.
Another dozen individuals, many of them Indian themselves and most being Frisco residents, spoke in support of Frisco’s Indian community. Their comments emphasized the benefits of diversity and cultural immersion, the economic contributions Frisco’s Indian population makes to the town, and the country’s melting pot reputation.
“Somewhere along the way Indians came to America, and then they became Americans, and then they helped to reinforce the American Dream because the American Dream requires participation,” said Frisco City Council member Burt Thakur. “People are upset. And I suppose what I’m trying to say to you is this. Look to the left of you and look to the right of you. This is Frisco. … Together we can do amazing things.”
Amit Radjadhyaksha, a longtime Frisco resident, said he felt compelled to speak at the meeting after seeing a troop of Webelos Scouts lead the meeting’s pledge of allegiance. Several of the children in the group appeared to be of Indian descent. Radjadhyaksha said his own children were members of the scouting organization when they were growing up in Frisco, and it was a foundational aspect of their childhood.
“I would welcome anyone who has divergent views to come sit down over a beer or a coffee and have a conversation about what we can do to help each other out in these times,” Radjadhyaksha said. “I’m Indian, I’m American. I’m a proud citizen of Frisco, and I’m not going anywhere.”
