Trump Posts Country-Wise 'Immigrant Welfare' List With India Excluded — Is It Deliberate?
The chart has sparked widespread discussion for a conspicuous omission: India as it did not appear on the chart at all.
A newly released chart shared by U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday, detailed immigrant welfare dependency.
On Jan. 4, President Trump took to Truth Social to post a graphic titled "Immigrant Welfare Recipient Rates by Country of Origin." The data, which listed approximately 120 nations and territories, ranked immigrant households based on their usage of U.S. government assistance.
While the list highlighted high usage rates among immigrants from several South Asian nations, including Bangladesh (54.8%), Pakistan (40.2%), and Nepal (34.8%), the chart has sparked widespread discussion for a conspicuous omission: India as it did not appear on the chart at all.
Why India Was Omitted
The absence of India has been interpreted not as an oversight, but as a reflection of socioeconomic data. The chart appeared to have a cutoff threshold, listing only countries where immigrant welfare usage exceeded approximately 25%.
According to data from the Pew Research Center and U.S. Census Bureau, Indian-Americans are consistently the highest-earning ethnic group in the United States, accounting for approximately 21% of the country’s Asian population.. In 2023, the median annual income for Indian-headed households was approximately $156,000, which is significantly higher than the national average and other immigrant groups.
The median annual income of Indian-headed households was USD 151,200 in 2023.
Among Asian-headed households overall, it was USD 105,600. Households with an Indian immigrant household head had a higher median annual income than those with a US-born Indian household head (USD 156,000 vs. USD 120,200).
The median annual personal earnings of Indian Americans ages 16 and older were USD 85,300 in 2023, higher than among Asians overall (USD 52,400), according to Pew data.
The majority of Indian immigrants arrive in the U.S. via skilled employment visas, such as the H-1B, working in high-demand sectors like technology, medicine, and engineering.
This demographic profile correlates with high financial stability and exceptionally low reliance on public assistance programs like Medicaid or food stamps, effectively placing India well below the usage threshold depicted in the President's data.
