(WASHINGTON) – President Joe Biden called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, grouping the two with adversaries China and Russia while trying to explain their economic circumstances and contrasting the four with the US on immigration.
The comments, at a campaign fundraising event on Wednesday night, came just three weeks after the White House welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a lavish official visit, during which the two leaders celebrated what Biden called an “unbreakable alliance,” especially on global security issues.
The White House welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi for a state visit last summer.
Japan is a critical US ally. And India, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, is a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific, despite differences on human rights.
At a fundraiser at a hotel where the donor audience was mostly Asian-American, Biden said the upcoming US election was about “freedom, America and democracy” and that the country’s economy was thriving “because of you and many others”.
“Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Biden said. “Look, think about it. Why is China so stagnant economically? Why is Japan having problems? Why is it Russia? Why is it India? Because they are xenophobes. They don’t want immigrants.”
The president added: “Immigrants are what make us strong. It’s not a joke. That’s not an exaggeration, because we have an influx of workers who want to be here and want to contribute.”
There was no immediate reaction from the Japanese or Indian governments. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden was advocating a broader position on the U.S. stance on immigration.
“Our allies and partners know well, in tangible ways, how President Biden values them, their friendship, their cooperation, and the capabilities they bring across the spectrum on a range of issues, not just security-related,” Kirby said at Thursday morning when asked about Biden. “xenophobic” comments. “They understand how completely and utterly he values the idea of alliances and partnerships.”
Biden’s comments came at the start of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and he was introduced at the fundraiser by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., one of two senators of Asian American descent. She is national co-chair of his re-election campaign.
Japan has acknowledged problems with its declining population and the number of babies born in the country in 2023 has fallen for the eighth year in a row, according to data released in February. Kishida called Japan’s low birth rate “the biggest crisis Japan faces.” and the country has long been known for a more closed stance on immigration, although the Kishida government has in recent years changed its policies to make it easier for foreign workers to come to Japan.
About that, India’s population increased and became the largest in the world, with the United Nations saying it was on track to reach 1.425 billion. Its population is also younger. At the beginning of this year, India enacted a new citizenship law which accelerates the naturalization of Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. But it excludes Muslims, who are the majority in the three nations. This is the first time that India has established religious criteria for citizenship.
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Associated Press Chief Political Reporter Steve Peoples and Associated Press Writer Aamer Madhani contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
