tom demetrion

To understand the midterms from the perspective of many long-time Collin County, Texas residents, you have to start with how fast the place changed In roughly 5-7 years, people who grew up here watched their schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces shift at a pace most of the country never sees I’ve lived in Allen since the 1970s Both of my sons graduated from Allen High School, one in 2016, the other in 2021 The difference in those graduating classes was IMPOSSIBLE to miss The student body, the names on the program, the overall makeup of the school had changed dramatically in just 5 years 😳 That wasn’t my imagination What happened in Collin County over the last 5–7 years was unusually fast ⬇️ According to Census American Community Survey estimates: • Collin County’s Asian Indian population nearly doubled in a recent five-year period, rising from roughly 81,000 to about 149,000 • Frisco went from a low single-digit share of Indian residents in the early 2010s to nearly 20% of the city (~43,000 people) by the early-to-mid 2020’s • Plano has roughly 37,000, McKinney about 16,000, and Allen around 9,200 This is one of the largest and fastest-growing Indian American communities IN THE USA A major driver has been the H-1B visa and Optional Practical Training (OPT) pipeline into tech, IT services, and finance The DFW area ranked among the TOP metros in the U.S. for new H-1B approvals in recent years…tens of thousands in a very short period of time Nationally, about 70% of H-1B visas go to workers from India Frisco and Plano have high volumes of filings, many from large Indian IT staffing and consulting firms that place workers at client sites, alongside U.S. companies that expanded or relocated here Texas leaders ACTIVELY RECRUITED those companies with incentives 💰💸💰 The jobs followed, and the federal visa system supplied a large share of the “skilled” workers The result showed up quickly in schools, neighborhoods, restaurants, grocery stores, temples, airports and workplaces My younger son graduated magna cum laude with a degree in data science last December and is still waiting tables My older son works at a large financial institution in the Northlake area When I visited the office, the large majority of workers were of Indian heritage These are NOT isolated anecdotes Entry-level competition in data and tech roles has been INTENSE, and long-time residents have watched the demographic composition of their towns change at a pace most places NEVER experience, EVER This is why many native Collin County residents say the place feels different and why local elections have shifted (hint: they mostly voted blue) The change was real, measurable, and unusually, insanely RAPID We’re talking breakneck speed rapid Understanding the numbers and the mechanisms (corporate recruitment + H-1B/OPT concentration) helps explain what people have seen with their own eyes 👀 If you’ve lived through this in Collin County or another fast-growing suburb, what has the pace of change looked like where you are? I know many people have heard the stories, and those who don’t live here may think we have been exaggerating We’re not and we never were Is there a “fix” for this? If so, how? Most of our friends and family live in Collin County, and most are discussing moving to another state, away from their native state Something they never thought they would think of doing, but they are definitely saying it now…and actively looking for a new place to live Texans have been sold out by leadership, and without the incentives Texas leadership offered, perhaps they would not have lost last week’s midterm elections Who knows? Yes, Texans are proud of our state, and have *mostly* been happy to be a “business friendly” state But, at what cost???