Frisco growth, demographic changes spark debate over diversity as officials reject "takeover" claims

Tensions over Frisco's rapid growth and shifting demographics are playing out at city council meetings, where some have raised concerns about an increase in the city's Indian population — claims local leaders and community members strongly push back on as divisive and not representative of the broader community.

City data shows that Frisco's population is majority-minority. White people are the lartest racial group at 45.5%, followed by Asians (33.6%), which include Indians as viewed by the city, Hispanics (10.4 %), Black people (10%), people of two or more races (8.7 %), other race (2%), and Native American (0.1%).

"Frisco is proud to celebrate our diversity. Our mission has always been to make those who call Frisco home feel welcome and safe," Mayor Jeff Cheney said.

Man raises concerns about Indian population growth, alleges visa fraud

Marc Palasciano is a Richardson resident who worked at T-Mobile in Frisco. He left the company on terms he's still fighting, which led to him to speak before the city council. For more than a month, the now self-proclaimed social media journalist has been talking about an "Indian takeover."

"I've grown up around a lot of different races. But when a population, the Indian population in America is 1.6%, but in Frisco, it's exploded to 33%. That's not diversity," he said at a city council meeting.

Palasciano said he is not a racist. He said he's suspicious of the increase in Indians in the nearly 250,000-person city and blames H-1B visa fraud, although he has offered no proof during recent city council meetings.

Frisco mayor says "outside agitators" fueled controversy at city council meeting

Mayor Cheney said the Feb. 3 meeting, where all the "takeover" talk started, was attended by outside agitators. He said they did not represent the majority of the city's residents.

"The city has had an exponential amount of growth in the last 20 years in population," Councilman Burt Thakur said. "And yes, 18 to 20% of that happens to come from India. They came here legally."

Thakur, who was born in India, said he's seen and heard this before with others who fell victim to it.

"We've had it happen with the Irish. We've had it happen with the Germans. We've had it happen with African Americans, we've had it happen with Hispanics," he said.

Others who took to the microphone for public comment made claims they believe warrant investigation.

"Now, when it comes to H-1B, etc., and ... the fraud and the misuse of that system," Thakur said. "I think there's absolutely something that should be looked into there if there's abuse and fraud for sure."

CBS News Texas contacted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ask whether H-1B fraud was an issue in Frisco. A spokesperson said ICE would work on the request, but after multiple attempts, it never released any information.

National statistics from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services show a steep drop in the number of people registering for non-citizen visas that allow them to work for American companies.

Thakur believes more energy should be focused on building Frisco into a greater place. He said the people have the right to free speech.

Plano woman arrested in 2022 after racial slurs toward Indians caught on camera

It was speaking, perhaps, too freely that took Dr. Bidisha Rudra and three Indian American friends by surprise in August 2022.

Esmeralda Upton, authorities said, spewed hate and assaulted the women in the parking lot of a Plano restaurant.

"I was stuttering because I could not believe that someone would come in my neighborhood where I have family, my children, friends, and, you know, and make me feel so little about myself," Rudra said. "The trauma lives. The trauma doesn't leave your body."

Rudra and her friends settled a civil case with Upton in January 2025. While the consequences eased her mind, Rudra said the wounds can be reopened in an incident that was about her being Indian.

"Words like the Indian takeover, it hurts me, because this country, America, is a potpourri of different cultures, different backgrounds, different ethnicities," she said. "We all come to this country. We all came to this country because we bring something of value to this country to make it great."

In the meantime, Palasciano continues to show up at city council meetings, as do others to defend or speak against the Indian community in Frisco.

"I know I can't change the world. I can't change the government. I can't change a lot of the stuff we're experiencing. But I know I can keep speaking up and trying to, and hoping that good will prevail," he said

Thakur said that more can get done if people learn to get along with each other.

"Stop being jerks to each other. We figure out like, hey, we can do so many good things together," he said.