Top US pollster and political commentator Mark Mitchell called for sending back Indian professionals working in the US on H-1B visas, saying each senior H‑1B developer at tech firms such as Apple represents
“the economic equivalent of 10 illegal aliens.”
Mitchell, the CEO of Rasmussen Reports – one of America’s top polling companies – has repeatedly called for the deportation of Indian H-1B workers, claiming they are stealing American jobs. He recently announced plans to “de-Indianise” US companies by starting a consultancy firm on the matter.
Speaking at a programme with Steve Bannon, former adviser to US President Donald Trump and a MAGA voice, Mitchell slammed the Trump administration for not sending back H-1B visa holders and said it was easy for Indians to replace American workers.
“Every single H-1B senior developer at Apple that we send back is economically equivalent to deporting 10 illegal aliens. So I don’t know why we didn’t do that yesterday. A lot of these people are entry-level, but a lot of them are making a ton of money,” he said.
MITCHELL: For every H1B senior dev at Apple we send back, it’s the economic equivalent of deporting 10 illegal aliens. Silicon Valley’s workforce is 2/3 foreign born, whole buildings 85-95% Indian nationals. These golden pathways let companies replace older American engineers… pic.twitter.com/4P8kSAnzDY
— Grace Chong, MBI (@gc22gc) December 8, 2025
Mitchell argued that Silicon Valley tech companies depend heavily on immigrant labour for a lower-cost workforce and ignore American workers for the jobs, which makes it easier for Indians to replace Americans. To support his argument, he said an H-1B developer earning around $90,000 a year is equivalent to 10 undocumented workers earning $9 an hour.
He said two-thirds of Silicon Valley’s workforce was foreign-born, and most of them were coming from India. “Walmart had engineering buildings that had 85-95% Indian nationals. They come in on these golden pathways, and they take these jobs,” he added.
The pollster also described H-1B workers as “third-world engineers”, saying there was a “bottomless well” for these employees. “People like me who have a family who are a little more expensive, maybe have gotten a few raises. My health insurance is a little more expensive. Really easy to replace me and train my replacement,” he mentioned.
His remarks came as recent data showed that foreign-born professionals hold roughly 66% of Silicon Valley’s tech jobs, with Indians accounting for 23% of them.
Meanwhile, Bannon also criticised the H-1B visa programme, accusing Indian IT firms of getting kickbacks by sending employees to the US. He also alleged widespread corruption and fraud, and that the H-1B system rewarded temporary talent while sidelining American talent.
