Washington, September 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Five Indian American lawmakers have urged US President Donald Trump to take action over a now-deleted Department of Homeland Security (DHS) social media post featuring a man identified as “Mr. Singh”, warning that the messaging could encourage racial profiling of Sikh and South Asian Americans.
Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi, Shri Thanedar, Suhas Subramanyam, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera, all Democrats, raised their concerns in a September 15 letter to Trump. They alleged that the DHS campaign used a recognisably Sikh identity while portraying an individual as a dangerous or unwanted foreigner in the context of immigration enforcement.
The post showed a brown, bearded man identified as “Mr. Singh” and carried messages telling him to “get off our roads” and “self-deport or find out”. The post was subsequently removed after criticism from Indian American and Sikh groups and Democratic lawmakers.
The lawmakers said the use of the surname Singh, which is widely associated with Sikh identity, was degrading and could reinforce suspicion based on ethnicity, religion or perceived foreignness rather than evidence of wrongdoing.
They also questioned DHS messaging around an Immigration and Customs Enforcement tipline intended to report suspected commercial driver’s licence fraud. According to the lawmakers, accompanying social media messaging urged people to report “illegal aliens on American roads”. They argued that, when paired with the “Mr. Singh” depiction, such messaging could contribute to racial profiling of Sikh, South Asian and other non-white drivers, including US citizens.
The letter cited Stop AAPI Hate data, stating that anti-South Asian slurs in monitored online spaces increased by 109 per cent between January 2023 and December 2025. It also said South Asians accounted for 71 per cent of anti-Asian online threats of violence identified between August 2024 and December 2025.
The lawmakers urged Trump to direct federal agencies, particularly DHS, to acknowledge the concerns raised over the post and establish enforceable standards barring communications that rely on racial, ethnic, religious or national-origin stereotypes.
They also called for assurances that immigration enforcement would not be used to stigmatise South Asian communities, saying such communities should not be portrayed as symbols of foreignness.
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