Shalabh Kumar, founder of the Republican Hindu Coalition, has been a strong defender of US President Donald Trump’s policies. He spoke to Rohit E David about the controversy on the travel ban to US for citizens from seven countries, Indian fears over H-1B visas and whether Pakistan should be part of the travel ban list:

There has been legal pushback on the travel ban by the Trump administration. Why do you defend this policy?

It is a great move to protect the lives of US citizens. Radical Islamic terrorists have declared a war on the civilised world. There are many reported cases of terrorists trying to cross borders and hide among refugees. The US president gets intelligence briefings every day. Why should we second guess him? It would be silly not to have this travel ban.

What impact will this have on the recently tabled immigration bill?

President Trump had declared as a candidate that US would have extreme vetting from countries that export terrorists. This should be part of the final immigration bill dealing with this subject.

Many of America’s top CEOs like Google’s Sundar Pichai, are first-generation immigrants. Won’t putting more boundary walls change the very nature of America?

Absolutely not. We welcome all legal skilled talent. I am myself an immigrant to the US. Melania Trump is an immigrant. President Trump during the campaign had clearly indicated that he loves skilled immigrant talent and would do everything possible to retain them here in the US. He, in a town hall with Senator Tim Scott, highlighted this issue, talked about an Indian tech entrepreneur who after his education went back to India and created 5,000 jobs there. As he said then, “Are we crazy to let people like this go back to India?”

Around 70% of H-1B visas go to Indians, so won’t this mean job losses for a large number of Indians?

There has been no change to the H-1B programme except enforcement of current laws to reduce abuse and fraud in the system. The US economy will expand by 4-5% per year. The stock market certainly believes that as it has gained almost 6% since Trump’s win. With a growing economy, there will be an increased need for all types of people including IT professionals. Sure, American citizens should and would have priority in getting jobs, but since there is extensive shortage of IT people in the US, this need would create additional work for Indian IT companies and not less. I am glad to report that in my meetings with some of the top Indian IT companies, they have indicated a willingness to invest in educational institutions and programmes to encourage and train Americans for IT work.

Do you think that Trump should impose travel restrictions on Pakistan as well?

It depends on Pakistan’s behaviour. If Pakistan stops its double talk and wages a credible war on radical Islamic terrorists, gets rid of its terror training camps, stops cross-border terrorism, closes down its madrassas that teach children violence, i am sure the Trump administration would consider leaving Pakistan out of the banned countries.

What do you make of Trump’s diplomatic style, where he warned his Mexican counterpart that he was ready to send in US troops?

President Trump is the ultimate negotiator, just as he has demonstrated with Carrier, Ford, Boeing and others. It is about time that we have a highly skilled negotiator getting America the deals it deserves. With Mexico, President Trump is going to redo NAFTA in the interest of America so that there is an even trade and not the $60 billion per year deficit that exists today. And, yes, we are going to build the wall and Mexico would pay for it one way or the other.

How do you react to criticism that Trump’s policies may end up harming India?

Wrong reporting. His policies are great for Hindu Americans, Indian Americans, US-India relations. I am quite sure that after all the fear mongering subsides, the results would be incredibly positive for Hindu and Indian Americans and they will thank and celebrate Donald Trump as the US president.

President Trump has the potential of ushering in a true Ram Rajya in US that could be followed by other countries. Americans are smarter than the so-called liberal pundits. More than 55% support the actions taken by President Trump. We are delighted to have a president who does what he promised during his campaign. What a refreshing idea. It should put all double-talking politicians on notice that a new sheriff has arrived on the world stage.