Indian immigrant in US says he wants to return but family doesn't: 'I'm stuck here. My heart is sad'

A video of an Indian immigrant working as a Doordash delivery person in the US has gone viral after he opened up about feeling unwelcome in the country due to rising anti-immigrant sentiment. In the clip, recorded and uploaded by a US-based content creator, the man says he wants to return to India but is unable to do so because his wife and daughters wish to continue living in the US.

In the video, the delivery worker — who remains unnamed — tells the customer, “I want to go back, Sir. They don’t accept us. You are nice, you are talking (to me). They (other Americans) don’t like to talk to us. We are immigrants, I am going to be a (US) citizen but my heart is sad. Why? Because these people don’t accept us.”

He adds that he has often been told to “f*** off” back to his country, especially amid rising unemployment. “Just pray for us, okay, Sir? I have two daughters, they don’t want to leave so I am stuck here. I want to leave US forever, because if you’re not happy and people are not accepting you… my daughters want to stay here and my wife also doesn’t want to leave.”

The video has gathered half a million views on X. It has also sparked a wave of reactions online, with many users expressing empathy for the man’s situation. While some criticised the content creator for filming the interaction, others praised the delivery worker’s honesty and vulnerability.

"But why do you want to go to another country and then force people of that country to accept you. Whether they want to accept you or not is their prerogative," commented Amrit Hallan (@AmritHallan). "People often wonder why people don't like Indians when they go to other countries. The reason is when people come from Europe, China or Japan, they are not escaping extreme poverty, as is the case in India. In India, people flee because the living conditions are terrible whether you are rich or poor."
Another X user RSP (@Zen_Bridge) said, "Most Indians that come to the US are hard-working and stay in their own lane. They work hard, take some of the worst jobs, and rarely complain about it. Most of them are like this man, too, it’s not always a black and white situation for them."

A third X user thought the Doordash delivery man was "smart".  "The pressure is too high with the H1b fraud and discrimination and now mass unemployment. I would not live where I was a harm to the citizens, and I respect his decision," added Skylar (@sky_and_sunshin).