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Rep. Thanedar criticizes Brandon Gill over racist H-1B remarks
Gill's remarks came after a viral Texas 7-Eleven video featuring an H-1B worker from Andhra Pradesh.
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Ankita Baidya - Fri, 03, Jul 2026
- 02:59 EDT
- 66
Rep. Shri Thanedar criticized Rep. Brandon Gill on X over comments targeting Indian H-1B workers. / League of Conservation Voters & house.gov
Rep. Shri Thanedar has accused Rep. Brandon Gill, who represents Texas' 26th Congressional District, of making racist remarks about Indian Americans, escalating an online dispute over Gill's criticism of H-1B workers.
In a July 3 post on X, Thanedar said Gill was being called racist not to silence him, but because he referred to Indian Americans as "7-Eleven workers." Thanedar also criticized Gill's marriage to an Indian American, saying he was pandering to a "racist base.”
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Thanedar was responding to a post by Gill that read, "Calling us racist doesn't work anymore," in which the Texas congressman defended earlier remarks urging employers to hire Americans instead of what he called imported "7-Eleven workers" from India "or anywhere across the globe."
Gill's comments followed the circulation of a video filmed inside a Texas 7-Eleven showing an employee who said he was from Andhra Pradesh, India, and working in the United States on an H-1B visa. Discussing the video on The Benny Show, hosted by Benny Johnson, Gill described the hiring of foreign workers at convenience stores and gas stations as "asinine" and "idiotic" and argued that the H-1B visa program should be abolished.
Gill represents Texas' 26th Congressional District. He is married to Danielle D'Souza Gill, an author and conservative commentator who is the daughter of Mumbai-born writer Dinesh D'Souza.
The remarks prompted criticism on social media, with several users pointing to the contrast between Gill's position on immigration and his family ties to an Indian-origin household.
No one is calling you racist as an attempt to scare you into shutting up, we call you racist because you refer to Indian Americans as "7-eleven workers."
— Congressman Shri Thanedar (@RepShriThanedar) July 3, 2026
But the fact that you married and Indian American shows that you're just a grifter pandering to a racist base.
How pathetic… https://t.co/TdIwpSBySM pic.twitter.com/nn55Vb4Q7Q
Thanedar, who was born in India and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, represents Michigan's 13th Congressional District and is one of five Indian American members currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.
As of publication, neither Gill's nor Thanedar's congressional office had issued a statement beyond their respective social media posts.
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