Trump an unpredictable friend to Indians at home and in the US

His election win sparks discussions on how flow of Indian people, goods will be affected

- Rohini Mohan

The presidential election on Nov 5 reminded Mr Asish, a 39-year-old Indian tech professional, that after 15 years of living in the US, he still did not have citizenship and the right to vote.

And Donald Trump's return to the White House revived old worries about the "ripple effects" of the Republican leader's hard stance on illegal immigration on a legal immigrant like him.

"Trump's campaign was more against illegal immigrants, but the heavy focus on mass deportations of undocumented migrants will surely affect at least a portion of legal immigrants," said Mr Asish, a South Indian who lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, an engineer, and a 12-year-old son, who was born in the US and is an American citizen. He gave only his first name to protect his identity.

Mr Asish has been waiting to get an employment-based green card for seven years. "An overly vigilant system will cause huge delays for the legal migration processes too," he added.

Trump's win has kicked off discussions among Indians in the US and at home about how his "America First" foreign policy doctrine would affect the flow of Indian people and goods.

Although Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump share a chummy personal bond, bilateral ties may be impacted by the latter's protectionist agenda to increase import tariffs overall.

Amid an expected global realignment of economic alliances and rivalries under the new Trump administration, analysts say India might find itself in a more balanced position, but some concerns do persist.

An estimated 4.8 million Indian Americans live in the US, making them the second-largest immigrant group there behind Mexicans. Around 1.6 million are naturalized citizens born and raised in the US, while 65 per cent are on work or student visas.