Senator Eric Schmitt Criticized For Linking Temple To ‘Visa Cartel’

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – Republican Senator Eric Schmitt is facing criticism from Indian Americans and social media users after referring to Telangana’s Chilkur Balaji Temple as part of a “visa cartel” while criticizing U.S. work visa programs.

The temple, located near Hyderabad in Telangana, is popularly known as the “Visa Temple” because many devotees visit the shrine and pray before U.S. visa interviews and overseas travel.

Schmitt, a vocal critic of the H-1B visa, made the remarks in a social media post focused on what he described as abuse of employment-based immigration systems. “The ‘Visa Cartel’ has its own ‘Visa Temple’ in Hyderabad, which sees thousands of Indians circling altars and getting passports blessed for US work visas,” Schmitt wrote. “American workers shouldn’t have to compete against a system this gamed.”

“This is part of a global ‘visa cartel,’” the Missouri Senator wrote, claiming that overseas recruitment networks, shell companies and visa loopholes were being used to bring what he described as “cheap, visa-dependent labor” into the United States.

His remarks drew criticism online, with several Indian American and Hindu social media users accusing the senator of disrespecting a Hindu temple and stereotyping Indians.