WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance, whose wife Usha is the American-born daughter of Indian immigrants and who told a conservative audience in October that he hoped she would one day embrace Christianity, said this week that immigrants should think of themselves as Americans first, adding that his own father-in-law had never once asked him to act in the interest of India.

Vance offered the observation as evidence that immigration can be done correctly, while maintaining his previously stated position that mass migration is "theft of the American Dream" and that every econometric study suggesting otherwise is funded by people getting rich off the old system.

"My father-in-law is a great American," Vance said, noting that the man had arrived from India, contributed to the country, and at no point submitted a formal request that his son-in-law govern in New Delhi's interests. Officials confirmed this absence of such a request was the relevant benchmark.

The Vice President made his remarks days after a December post on X in which he described large-scale immigration as a direct transfer of opportunity away from American workers. Social media users responding to that post noted that Usha Vance, the first Asian American and first Hindu American second lady, is herself the product of the immigration he was describing, and asked whether she and the couple's three children were scheduled for repatriation. Vance's office did not respond to questions about the timeline.

The comments follow a separate controversy in October, when Vance told a Turning Point USA audience at the University of Mississippi that he hoped Usha, who was raised Hindu and has no plans to convert, would eventually "be moved by the same thing I was moved by in church." He later clarified that her not converting "doesn't cause a problem" for him, while confirming that he would continue to hope.

Vance, who described himself as an agnostic or atheist when he met Usha at Yale Law School, converted to Catholicism in 2019. He has said Usha encouraged his spiritual journey. A spokesperson confirmed that the Vice President considers this a point in favour of interfaith households, not against them, and that the two situations are not comparable.

In November, Vance also told the New York Post podcast that it was "totally reasonable and acceptable" for Americans to prefer neighbours who share their race, language, or skin colour. Princeton historian Kevin Kruse noted the language was closely aligned with arguments historically advanced by segregationists. The Vice President's office described the comparison as unfair.

Asked to reconcile the position that immigrants should think of themselves as Americans first with the position that Americans may reasonably prefer neighbours who do not look like immigrants, a spokesperson said the Vice President's views on both matters were consistent, and that anyone suggesting otherwise likely had an agenda to sell.