Indian-origin Vivek Ramaswamy has certainly made a mark in American politics. Born in the US to Indian immigrant parents, Ramaswamy rose to political prominence in 2023 when he declared his candidacy for the Republican Party nomination. Although he suspended his campaign after finishing fourth in the Iowa caucuses, Ramaswamy has found a place in the Donald Trump administration - he will head the Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk.
During his campaign and afterwards, the Indian-origin millionaire entrepreneur has been an outspoken advocate for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants in the United States. He often cited the story of his own family’s immigration and naturalisation while talking about stripping citizenship from illegal immigrants.
Vivek Ramaswamy once revealed that his mother is now a US citizen while his father still holds an Indian passport despite spending decades in the US.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s Indian roots
Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati to Indian immigrant parents. They immigrated to the United States from Kerala. His father, V. Ganapathy Ramaswamy, a National Institute of Technology Calicut graduate, built a career as an engineer and patent attorney at General Electric, while his mother, Geetha Ramaswamy, a graduate of Mysore Medical College & Research Institute, worked as a geriatric psychiatrist.
At the Iowa State Fair in August 2023, Ramaswamy had revealed why his father chose to retain his Indian citizenship while his mother took the US citizenship test to become an American citizen.
{{/usCountry}}At the Iowa State Fair in August 2023, Ramaswamy had revealed why his father chose to retain his Indian citizenship while his mother took the US citizenship test to become an American citizen.
{{/usCountry}}He was advocating for every high school graduate to undergo a civics test before being able to vote when he revealed why his father still holds an Indian passport.
“I think there’s no reason why every high school student who graduated in this country should not have to pass the same civics test that an immigrant, like my parents, had to pass in order to become a citizen of this country,” the 39-year-old Republican said.
He added that his father never took the US citizenship test. “He did not. And that’s a choice that he has made for familial reasons.
“But my mother did,” he added, explaining that his mother became a US citizen after he was born. “And I think that every immigrant who comes to this country in order to become a full voting citizen has to do the same.”
Mass deportation plan
More recently, the top Indian-American aide to US President-elect Donald Trump has again expressed his support for mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
He said that those who broke the law while entering the United States have no right to stay here and they need to go.
"Do we have a broken legal immigration system? Yes, we do. But I think the first step is going to be to restore the rule of law, to do it in a very pragmatic way,” entrepreneur turned-politician told ABC News in an interview. “Those who have entered in the last couple of years, they haven't established roots in the country. Those who have committed a crime, should be out of this country. That is by the millions. That alone would be the largest mass deportation. Combine that with ending government aid for all illegals. You see self-deportations,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)