NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Oxford, MS, October 30, 2025: A question from a student draped in a pashmina shawl and wearing a bindi to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance during a campus event at the University of Mississippi has gone viral.
The exchange occurred during a Turning Point USA gathering where Vance, addressing students about the administration’s policies, took questions from the audience. The student, who described herself as an immigrant who had spent her youth and savings pursuing the American dream, asked why the government was now calling for reduced immigration after encouraging international students and skilled workers to build lives in the United States.
“When you talk about too many immigrants here, when did you guys decide that number?” she asked. “You made us spend our youth, our wealth in this country and gave us a dream. You don’t owe us anything. We have worked hard for it.”
She also questioned whether faith was being tied to patriotism, referencing the Vice President’s family background. “Why do I have to be Christian to prove I love America?” she added.
Vance, seated on the stage, said he understood her concerns but maintained that immigration policy must balance opportunity with sustainability. “We have to fulfill the promises made to those already here,” he said. “But we also have to decide what level of immigration works best for our country going forward.”
He distinguished between honoring existing legal immigrants and managing future immigration levels, arguing that the government’s goal was to ensure economic and social stability, not to target any specific group.
During the same event, Vance also addressed a question about his wife’s Hindu faith, saying he respected her beliefs and free will but hoped she would one day “come to Christianity.” He added that their children are being raised Christian and that he believed faith should be a matter of personal choice, not political debate.
Clips of the exchange quickly spread across social media.
1 comment
The statement “You Don’t Owe Us Anything” reflects the level of ignorance of what the United States offers to aspiring minds and brains from all over the world. It is a common observation that people who may or may not succeed in their own home countries flourish very well in the United States in their chosen fields. In fact, in the United States an ordinary person can do extraordinary things. This is made possible because of the “fabric” of this country, which was designed by the Founding Fathers and sustained by generations of Americans. If immigrant brains are like skilled chefs, the United States offers them a highly equipped kitchen and freedom to use it. The USA does not differentiate the ethnicity, religion, nationality and other attributes of the chefs. That is where the USA stands unique among all other countries. In other words, every successful immigrant owes it to the United States, without which he/she is nothing. Whether it is Dr. Hargobind Khorana or Dr. Yellapragada Subbarow or Mr. Satya Nadella or Mr. Sundar Pichai, they could make a mark because of the unparalleled opportunities with fertile soil the United States offered them. Hence, the blanket statement “You Don’t Owe Us Anything” has no meaning or value at all. Without the fertile soil the USA offered us, however hard working we may be, we cannot succeed. Thanks you – BK Kishore