Roundglass India Center to launch webinar series on Trump 2.0

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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.

Immigration in focus: H-1Bs, Green cards, and the rise of undocumented Indians

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.

Health care: Rising costs and abortion rights for South Asians

On Mar.26, the focus will shift to health care, a sector where Indian Americans play a crucial role—nearly 10 percent of US physicians are of Indian origin. Yet, the community also faces higher rates of diabetes and heart disease, conditions often overlooked in mainstream health policy. Another underreported issue is the disproportionate enforcement of abortion laws against Asian and South Asian women—a consequence of Trump’s judicial appointments.

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.

Affirmative action and higher education under Trump

Affirmative action was struck down in 2023, leading many to believe elite universities would enroll more Asian Americans. However, the reality has been mixed. While MIT saw an increase in Asian American admissions in 2024, other universities, like Yale, maintained previous numbers, Roundglass said. Beyond admissions, the Trump administration could seek to influence curriculum, discrimination policies, and campus protests, raising constitutional questions about federal control over higher education.

On Apr.9, this panel will feature Eduardo Peñalver, president of Seattle University, and Michael C. Dorf, a constitutional law expert at Cornell University.

US-India relations: A balancing act under Trump 2.0

The final session on May.16 will explore the broader implications of Trump’s "America First" policies on US-India relations. While his first term saw closer security ties through agreements like BECA, it also featured trade disputes and visa restrictions. Now, a split within Trump’s coalition—between Silicon Valley billionaires relying on Indian tech workers and nationalist factions opposing high-skill immigration—adds another layer of complexity.

Experts including Tanvi Madan from the Brookings Institution and Milan Vaishnav from the Carnegie Endowment will discuss how the next four years might shape diplomatic and economic ties between Washington and New Delhi.

A community-centered discussion

Co-sponsored by organizations like the Indian American Community Services and South Asian Bar Association of Washington, this series will invite attendees from all backgrounds to engage with issues shaping the Indian American experience.

“Recently, the Indian American community became a focal point of national debate, caught between ideological divides within the Trump coalition,” Kalantry noted. “We aim to shed light on these challenges and explore how policy shifts may shape the future of US-India relations and the role of Indian Americans in this complex landscape.”