WASHINGTON D.C — The separatist group Sikhs for Justice has called on President Donald Trump to add India to the United States’ list of restricted-entry countries, alleging that the Modi government poses “a public safety and national security threat” to Americans.
In a letter sent to the White House, SFJ urged Trump to impose broad travel restrictions on Indian nationals, with the exception of what it described as “persecuted Sikhs.” The group said the move would mirror earlier restrictions applied to 19 other countries.
The organization — which advocates for an independent Sikh state known as Khalistan — outlined four demands it says align with an “America First” agenda. SFJ accused Indian outsourcing companies of “widespread H-1B visa fraud” that it claims undermines U.S. tech workers. It also alleged that Indian chemical exporters have been linked to fentanyl-precursor trafficking cited in U.S. federal indictments.
SFJ further asserted that India’s intelligence agencies have been involved in “assassination plots and extremist activities abroad”.
The group asked the administration to exempt Sikh activists and asylum seekers from any proposed restrictions, saying the community faces political and religious persecution under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
President Trump in June announced the travel ban against 12 countries, and partial restrictions against seven others, after a firebombing attack in Colorado and then on last Tuesday halted immigration applications submitted by nationals from 19 countries that already faced restrictions on travel to the United States.
The move comes less than week after two National Guard members were shot on patrol in Washington, D.C., leaving one dead and the other critically wounded. The suspect, who pleaded not guilty to murder Tuesday, is an Afghan national who entered the United States legally during the Biden administration and was granted asylum after President Donald Trump took office for a second time.
The citizenship and immigration agency also plans to re-review and re-interview immigrants from these countries, potentially going as far back as 2021, amid sharper scrutiny of those who have followed the legal steps to seek permanent status in the U.S.