Top Trump official mocked online over false claim of Indian stock market crash after US green card curbs

Anthony D’Esposito, Department of Labor Inspector General, speaks as Vice President JD Vance listens during a news conference on the Fraud Task Force. (AP Photo)

A top US official has faced online criticism after appearing to endorse a false claim that India’s stock market had collapsed following the Trump administration’s latest restrictions on foreign workers, including Indian IT professionals.Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General of the US Department of Labor, reacted to a post by American conservative commentator Benny Johnson on X with the words “Ruh roh”.The post claimed that India’s stock market had “completely COLLAPSED” after the Trump administration suspended major technology companies from a programme linked to employment-based green cards.Social media users criticised the response, with some accusing the official of amplifying misinformation about India.On October 8, the Trump administration suspended eight major technology companies, including Cognizant, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro, HCL, Capgemini, Microsoft and Adobe, from the Permanent Labor Certification, or PERM, programme.The move came amid the administration’s broader efforts to curb what it alleges is the misuse of foreign worker programmes at the expense of American workers.PERM is a key step in the employment-based green card process. Employers seeking to sponsor most foreign workers for permanent residence must generally obtain certification from the Labor Department that there are not enough qualified, willing and available American workers for the position and that hiring a foreign worker will not adversely affect US wages and working conditions.

What Benny Johnson claimed about Indian markets

Reacting to the restrictions, Johnson claimed that the Indian stock market had crashed because of the administration’s action against the tech companies.“The largest IT outsourcing firms in the world, Cognizant, Infosys, Tata, Wipro, HCL and Capgemini were removed from the Permanent Labor Certification Program,” Johnson wrote on X.He also claimed that 75 per cent of Cognizant employees in the US were Indian nationals and pointed out that Infosys, Tata, Wipro and HCL were based in India.Johnson further alleged that these companies had sought millions of foreign workers over the years and questioned whether India’s economy was based on “scamming” the US.However, a community note attached to Johnson’s post pointed out that Indian stock markets had closed hours before the US administration announced the restrictions on October 8. This undermined the claim that the announcement had caused the market to crash that day.

Users question US official

D’Esposito’s brief response to Johnson’s post prompted criticism from users who questioned why a senior US official appeared to engage with a claim contradicted by the community note.“How do you became inspector general, without even knowing the facts? Read the community notes,” one user wrote.Another user criticised the apparent amplification of the claim, writing: “Top US official is spreading fake news that Indian markets collapsed. And they have the gall to call Indians ‘scammers.’”While Indian benchmark indices fell sharply on Thursday, the decline was attributed to rising crude oil prices, the Reserve Bank of India’s rate hike, and foreign investor outflows.On Friday, October 9, the Sensex and Nifty rebounded in early trade after two sessions of losses. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 292 points to 71,876.10, while the NSE Nifty gained 84.60 points to 22,310.40.Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shares surged more than 4 per cent after the company reported a 15 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 13,884 crore. Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were also among the gainers.The controversy comes amid heightened scrutiny of Indian technology companies and foreign worker programmes under the Trump administration.The latest PERM suspensions could affect the green card sponsorship process for employees of the companies involved, although the move does not, by itself, mean that all their Indian employees have lost their jobs or visas.