For many Indian Americans, the 2024 U.S. presidential matchup hits home.  

Vice President Kamala Harris’ ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket and the growing prominence of Usha Vance, the wife of vice presidential hopeful J.D. Vance, have led to robust conversations at our dinner tables and in our WhatsApp groups about the role of identity and representation at the highest echelons of political leadership.   

At the same time, many Indian Americans and organizations representing South Asians are eschewing representational identity politics, focusing instead on the issues at stake in this election, leveraging their voting power to make strategic demands of political parties and candidates, and acting in solidarity with other communities of color also under attack in the current political climate.  

Indian Americans, the largest Asian group in the country, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, face a range of challenges that belie the harmful and divisive trope that we are “model minorities” with very few problems and needs. As a community with a significant immigrant population, we closely follow policies regarding citizenship, border security, and asylum. In fact, in 2022, Indians comprised the third-largest undocumented population in the country, according to estimates from the Pew Research Center. Indian immigrants seeking asylum have also made headlines in recent years, including the tragic case of Gurupreet Kaur, a 6-year-old who died from heatstroke after crossing the Southern border with her mother. More than 1.2 million Indians, including dependents, are also waiting in line for green cards, according to an analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy.

All of this is why immigration and national security policy—regardless of who wins the election—are vital to our community members. After the 2016 election, we witnessed the devastating consequences of the Muslim and African bans, former President Donald Trump’s demeaning rhetoric toward immigrants outside of the West, and the separation of children from their family members. 

In the runup to the 2024 elections, Trump is once again signaling his deep disdain for immigrants, saying routinely that they are “poisoning the blood of our country.” Should Trump be reelected, his immigration policies will include even more militarized enforcement at the Southern border and “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” 

According to Silky Shah, the executive director of the immigrant rights organization Detention Watch Network and the author of “Unbuild Walls,” Trump’s reelection would mean the return of mass deportations, expansion of detention, and even more dehumanization of immigrants.  

“Families, businesses, and communities at large will be upended across the country,” Shah said. 

A Trump 2.0 administration is also expected to worsen access to abortion care, an issue important to many Indian Americans. In New York City, for example, a study found that between 2011 and 2015, Indian-American women had the highest abortion rate among Asian groups. Amrita Doshi, the executive director of South Asian SOAR, which seeks to end gender-based violence in the South Asian diaspora, has grave concerns about further attacks on abortion rights and gender equality under Trump. 

“A presidency endorsing patriarchy, violence, and racism would strip our community members of autonomy,” Doshi said, “inflicting profound harms, especially on those who can get pregnant, identify as LGBTQIA+, or are at the margins based on economic status, immigration status, caste, and more.” 

Additionally, South Asian advocates are concerned about state-level policies that mirror Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led blueprint to roll back longstanding civil rights, protections, and liberties with the ultimate goal of consolidating power in the executive branch. 

Taneeza Islam, the CEO of South Dakota Voices for Peace, which fights anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant legislation, said she is already seeing the impact of Project 2025 policies in her state. 

“Regardless of whether Trump wins or loses, many legislators feel empowered to legislate hate, like anti-DEI policies, which not only harms vulnerable communities, but also creates a chilling effect that means a loss of professionals of color across sectors, donations, sponsorships, and lowered levels of civic engagement,” Islam said.

Given the severity of what is at stake, Harris’ presidential campaign has reinvigorated civic engagement and opened up a space to envision a different future that centers and supports people of color. Anika Fassia, the co-executive director of the coalition-building organization We Make The Future Action, explained that voters of color most often respond to candidates who can “connect to their values and use racially explicit language to describe the root causes of why people are suffering.” This might explain why so many South Asians are organizing phone banks and making donations to support Harris’ campaign—while also using the connection they feel with her around cultural and racial identity to make strategic policy demands.

In August, I helped organize an online forum attended by more than 300 South Asians to discuss issues that matter to us, including immigration, caste and Hindu supremacy, foreign policy toward India, and gender and economic justice. One issue that emerged is whether Harris will veer from the Biden administration’s policy on Gaza. As the event came to a close, hundreds of participants signed a petition calling for a permanent ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel. 

Sonny Singh, a Brooklyn, New York-based songwriter and educator-activist who participated in the event, explained how the Harris campaign could connect effectively with South Asian voters.

“While I believe the most centrist version of Kamala Harris would still be better for our country and the world than a second Trump term, she has a much better chance of energizing our communities and turning out disenchanted voters if she runs a campaign that pushes for social and economic justice policies—including and especially stopping the funding of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza,” Singh said. 

Regardless of the outcome in November, advocates assert that it is vital for South Asian communities to build a unified organizing base that exists beyond electoral cycles. Darakshan Raja, executive director of the grassroots organization Muslims for Just Futures, said that local communities must invest now in “power-building, community and economic defense, care infrastructure, and ensuring that the most marginalized South Asian community members are supported.” 

For candidates and campaigns seeking office up and down the ballot in November, the message is clear: Indian-American voters won’t be satisfied with simple appeals to identity. We are also seeking a clear understanding of the critical issues that matter to our communities, policy proposals to address and solve them, and accountable leadership.