JD Vance’s immigration remark on X triggered widespread online backlash.
Critics accused him of hypocrisy due to his wife Usha Vance’s immigrant background.
The episode highlighted ongoing tensions in the U.S. immigration debate.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has found himself in the middle of online backlash and criticism after making a comment about immigration on X. He wrote, “Mass migration is theft of the American Dream,” while replying to a post from an account called ICE of TikTok. Social media users immediately called him out, reminding him of the immigrant background of his wife, Usha Vance. Some even denounced his remarks as hypocritical and xenophobic, suggesting that his wife Usha, her family, and their biracial children should be sent back to India.
The comment was a reply to an X post featuring a Louisiana construction company worker who said, “No immigrants want to go to work.” J.D. Vance’s response in support of such a post drew attention online. Many accused him of inconsistency, arguing that his remarks contradicted his own family ties.
J.D. Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, is an American lawyer who was born and raised in San Diego, California. She is of Indian ethnicity, with her parents having migrated from the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. She attended Yale University and Yale Law School and later worked as a federal judicial clerk. She is the first Asian American and the first Hindu to serve as the Second Lady of the United States. She resigned from private practice and took on more public-facing roles following her husband’s national prominence in 2024.
J.D. Vance and Usha met while studying at Yale Law School and were married on June 14, 2014. The couple share an interfaith household, as Usha was raised Hindu and J.D. Vance practices Christianity. They have three children together named Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel. J.D. Vance has often referred to Usha as his biggest supporter, stating that she has “sacrificed” a lot for him and thanking her for standing by his side. He has also described their marriage as strong, dismissing divorce rumours that surfaced after Usha was seen without her wedding ring.
The comment is widely seen as illustrating the tensions surrounding the public debate on immigration in the United States. Some have defended Vance’s views, calling them a policy position focused on labour markets and national rules and supporting stricter immigration limits. Vance has made similar statements in the past, as debates over the economic and cultural impact of migration continue to take centre stage. [Rh]
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