- Every country has stupid people, said Marco Rubio on racism against Indians in US
- Rubio stressed the US is a welcoming nation enriched by immigrants worldwide
- He said visa policy changes address broad migration issues, not targeted at India
Every country has stupid people, a top US diplomat has said, rejecting instances of Indians and Indian Americans facing racist remarks in his country as "dumb" commentary.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's remarks came in response to a question at a press briefing in New Delhi this afternoon. With Foreign Minister S Jaishankar by his side, Rubio said he takes such racist remarks very seriously.
"I'll take that very seriously about the comments. I'm sure that there are people who have made comments online and in other places because every country in the world has stupid people. I'm sure there are stupid people here; there are stupid people in the United States who make dumb comments all the time," he said.
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Rubio, who is on a four-day visit to India, further stressed that the US is a very welcoming country.
"Our nation has been enriched by people who have come to our country from all over the world, become Americans, assimilated into our way of life, and contributed greatly," he added.
Rubio On US' New Visa Rules
Rubio also answered queries on the new US policy that mandates immigrants already living legally in the US to leave first and apply for permanent residency from abroad. He said such changes are part of modernising the migration system, and are not India-specific.
"We've had a migratory crisis in the United States. This is not because of India, but broadly, we have had over 20 million people illegally enter the United States over the last few years, and we have had to address that challenge. The US, I believe, is the most welcoming country in the world on immigration," he said.
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"The US is undergoing a process of reforming the system by which we choose how many people come into our country, who comes in, and when they come in...it is not a system that is targeted at India. It's being applied globally," the diplomat added.
The top US diplomat earlier emphasised that his country has strategic ties with India that allow the two countries to cooperate globally. He noted that India and the US are the two largest democracies in the world and have many common interests.
Rubio also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi yesterday. During their meeting, the US diplomat briefed the prime minister on the "sustained progress" in bilateral cooperation across a wide range of sectors. After the meeting, PM Modi said that India and the US will continue to work closely for the global good.
