U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) is among many lawmakers condemning President Trump’s post this week about birthright citizenship.
[NOTE: In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order to try to limit access to birthright citizenship, which the Supreme Court is currently considering.]
Trump’s post described the ACLU lawyer defending the 14th Amendment in a Supreme Court case as “a Chinese American who looks to me like the classic ACLU attorney. Very smart, very evil, and very devious…They have been forever, and there they were again trying to turn America into a cesspool.”
Trump said of the current birthright citizenship law: “A baby here becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet…Our nation is being overrun with Chinese coming here just to drop a baby on our shores to then bring in the entire family.”
.@JDVance any comment on the President insulting immigrants from “China or india or some other hellhole on the planet.” Do you also think that India is a hellhole and Chinese or Indian immigrants denigrate America? https://t.co/JOSeZXcBFl
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) April 24, 2026
Khanna responded by asking Trump’s Vice President JD Vance — who is married to the first Indian-American second lady, Usha Vance — to comment on the post.
Khanna wrote: “@JDVance any comment on the President insulting immigrants from ‘China or India or some other hellhole on the planet.’ Do you also think that India is a hellhole and Chinese or Indian immigrants denigrate America?”
[NOTE: Khanna’s House colleague Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) had harsher words for the Trump administration. He wrote: “Dear @WhiteHouse: I’m Chinese American. I read donald trump’s racist post below. Please tell donald trump I said [expletive] you. See you in November.”]
The Hindu American Foundation also condemned Trump’s “hateful, racist screed targeting Indian and Chinese Americans.”