Nalin Haley, the 24-year-old son of former South Carolina governor and Republican leader Nikki Haley, has ignited controversy online after calling for an end to mass immigration to the United States and urging states to restrict H-1B visas. His post on X cited concerns about overcrowding, economic fragility, and job displacement caused by artificial intelligence. Haley argued that even immigrants from countries like Canada should be barred, warning that foreign workers were taking jobs that Americans could perform. He specifically referenced the Trump administration’s recent $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications as part of his call for stricter immigration checks.
The remarks quickly drew pushback from British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan, who pointed out the apparent contradiction in Haley’s stance by referencing his own family’s immigrant history. Hasan highlighted that Haley’s grandfather, Ajit Singh Randhawa, had migrated from India to the United States in 1969, a period when restrictive quotas and anti-immigrant sentiment were widespread. Randhawa, originally from Punjab, built a distinguished academic career in the US, earning a master’s in biology, a PhD from the University of British Columbia, and later joining Voorhees College in South Carolina as a faculty member. Randhawa passed away in June last year.
The social media exchange escalated after Haley rejected the comparison, telling Hasan he “should be denaturalised” if he disliked the United States. Haley further insisted that the current situation was “not 1969” and criticized Hasan for constantly complaining about the country. This retort drew significant criticism from online users, many of whom reminded Haley that his family’s very presence in the US stemmed from the immigration policies he now sought to restrict. Critics accused him of aligning with sentiments that historically opposed his own grandparents’ arrival. Comments included reminders that his family would not have survived under the restrictive policies he now advocated, highlighting the perceived hypocrisy in his stance.
The exchange underscores the continued polarization surrounding immigration in the US, particularly among younger conservatives influenced by the Trump administration’s policies. Since the administration intensified its crackdown on illegal migrants, deportations have affected Indian nationals as well, with 1,563 deported by July 2025, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Haley’s statements, juxtaposed with his family history, reveal the generational tensions and complexities within American political discourse, where debates over immigration intersect with personal and ancestral narratives.
Nalin Haley, educated in political science at Villaeserve University and having grown up during his mother’s tenure as US ambassador to the United Nations, has now emerged as a polarizing voice in immigration debates. The online spat with Hasan reflects not just a clash of viewpoints but also highlights how family histories and immigrant legacies continue to shape—and challenge—the public stances of political figures and their relatives in the US. The controversy illustrates how personal lineage and political ideology often collide in highly visible public forums, fueling broader discussions on the ethics and fairness of contemporary immigration policies.
