Being American means nothing: MAGA influencer slams children of H-1B standing in front of a Hindu temple ahead of July 4

MAGA influencer Elijah Schaffer has sparked controversy with a video criticizing birthright citizenship, filmed in front of a Hindu temple in Texas. Schaffer questioned the essence of American identity, particularly in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling that upholds citizenship for children born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents' immigration status.

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This kind of brings up an interesting question. If your parent may not be an American, they may be here on a temporary visa, maybe they are here on a Green Card, perhaps they are just a resident and we don't really know but then if you have children here, those children are decidedly citizens. It sort of just begs the question this 4th of July: what are we celebrating? If we are celebrating independence from England to have an American identity, but an American identity requires no blood, sweat, finances, tears or history... you just have to be born on the magic soil...then the identity of what American is really no longer exists. And you don't really know what you are celebrating on the 4th of July, for that matter

"If your parent may not be an American, they may be here on a temporary visa... and then if you have children here, those children are decidedly citizens," Schaffer stated in the video. He argued that if American identity requires "no blood, sweat, finances, tears or history," then "the identity of what American is really no longer exists." He questioned what Americans are celebrating on the Fourth of July under such circumstances.

Schaffer also raised concerns about how the administration would address issues like H-1B visas and Temporary Protected Status if birthright citizenship allows the children of visa holders to remain in the U.S. indefinitely, making family separations impossible. His comments have been met with strong opposition from the Indian community.

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Elijah Schaffer stands in front of a temple🛕in Frisco,Texas 🇺🇸, while filming children, declares that he is not going to celebrate the 4th of July because there are too many Indian kids, children of H-1B workers, in America. But he seems to have no problem grifting on a platform owned by a former H-1B holder

Commentator Sandeep Neel criticized Schaffer on X, calling his remarks "hate speech" and highlighting the hypocrisy of the influencer filming children in front of a temple while questioning their American identity. Neel also pointed out Schaffer's alleged distrust of politicians with "Indian wives," like JD Vance, while seemingly accepting immigrants like Melania Trump.

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He also says he doesn’t trust anyone with an “Indian wife,” like JD Vance, to hold public office. Usha Vance was born in the USA, but Melania Trump wasn’t. She is an immigrant, yet he seems to be perfectly okay with that