Frisco council member hits back at claims of visa-fraud and 'demographic takeover'
City's First Indian American councilor says no wrongdoing, open to probe
Frisco City Councilman Burt Thakur insists there is no wrongdoing amid heated accusations of visa fraud during a stormy Frisco City Council meeting on 20 January.
Thakur, the first Indian American city council member for Frisco, was accused by resident Marc Palasciano of widespread H-1B visa fraud and demographic “takeover”.
Reminiscent of the Murphy Council Meeting, which turned into a Muslim-hate session, Palasciano said Thakur was a product of demographics already changing.
In his view, Indians showed up to the voting polls “to make sure they got their guy in office.”
But Thakur came out fighting, arguing that it was not his responsibility for visas but the federal government’s, and that such baseless accusations detracted from the pressing work ahead, which, in his ambit, is focused on potholes, roads, and law enforcement, among other local issues.
Thakur told The Dallas Express that he has no authority over federal immigration policy or visa enforcement, and that he rejects the premise that local officials are orchestrating demographic change.
“H-1B is something that I have no control of,” Thakur said. “That’s a USCIS issue. That’s a federal government [responsibility].”
Videos of Palasciano’s speech have drawn national and international attention to Frisco, where the Indian population grown steadily over the past two decades, representing nearly one-third of the city’s population. Frisco is on State Highway 289 and Farm Road 720, about thirty miles north of Dallas in western Collin County.
As one of its leading citizens, renowned as an American committed to local governance, citing military service during 9/11 and support for prioritizing jobs for U.S. citizens, Thakur insists he’s open to scrutiny of any alleged wrongdoing.
“I really would have no problem with any federal agency coming in and doing an audit,” Thakur said. “And if things are found that are illegal … I’ll be the first supporter and the biggest supporter of those agencies coming in and being able to do their job,” he told the newspaper.
Thakur’s assertion is correct, according to the publication. Given the federal style of government established under the United States Constitution, Texas city councilmen have little direct influence over federal visa programs. Moreover, the City of Frisco does not directly employ any H-1B workers, according to the USCIS H-1B database.
Thakur does not deny that Indians voted for him, but said that the broader conversation should focus on civic engagement rather than on accusations.
“Exercise your freedom of speech. Go out and vote,” he said. “If we have [fraud] here, I’ll be the first one to tear it down. … But if your problem is that you just don’t like it, I can’t help you,” he told the newspaper.