Palm Bay councilman issues ‘final statement’ after social media comment comes under attack

PALM BAY, Fla. – After the Palm Bay City Council made a push last week to suspend Councilman Chandler Langevin over his social media comments, Langevin has now issued an “apology.”

The issue cropped up when Langevin wrote the following in a now-deleted X post:

“There’s not a single Indian that cares about the United States.

They are here to exploit us financially and enrich India and Indians.

America for Americans."

Chandler Langevin on X

Since then, Langevin received heavy criticism from some members of the public and fellow councilmembers alike.

In fact, the Florida Democratic Party condemned his statements, calling them “bigoted” and “racist.”

However, Langevin clarified that he was not speaking about Indian-Americans, but rather visa holders and migrants — actual Indian citizens.

The councilman has launched several criticisms against U.S. illegal immigration policies and worker visa programs — particularly when it comes to H-1B visas — arguing that they result in fewer opportunities and resources for American citizens.

In 2024 alone, federal data from the USCIS shows that over 70% of the nearly 400,000 approved H-1B petitions were for workers whose country of birth was India.

Many critics of the program say that H-1B workers undercut American workers, luring people from overseas who are often willing to work for less than American workers do.

The issue gained even more traction earlier this year when the Trump administration decided to slap a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas for new workers. DeSantis has also touched on the issue here in Florida.

Despite the clarifications, the city council voted 4-1 during last week’s meeting to send DeSantis a letter to request Langevin’s suspension, as well as his censure and a violation draft to be forwarded to the Florida Commission of Ethics.

Following the meeting, Langevin said that he stood by his comments, though on Wednesday, he issued what he called his “only and final statement on the current situation.”

In the statement, Langevin apologizes to Hindu Americans for the “tone” and “absolutism” of his original statement, though he again calls for immigration reform and voices concerns over the impacts of mass migration.

His statement is as follows:

“In no other country is Liberty held so dear, and the dignity of the individual so preserved than in the United States of America. It is important to understand that this is only possible because the country was founded as a Christian nation by Christian men. That our laws and culture are rooted in Biblical principles. That only by maintaining Heritage Americans as the populations majority can we sustain our nation for ourselves and our posterity.

We must also understand that there are forces of evil actively working to impose a Marxist Revolution in this country. They know that before they can take over the United States, they first must break down everything that it means to be American. They slander Heritage Americans as ‘racists,’ ‘bigots,’ and ‘nazis.’ They denigrate our Founding Fathers to nullify our founding documents and tear their statues down to replace them with meaningless postmodern ‘art.’ They perpetuate the lie they call ‘separation of church and state.’

Furthermore, they seek to sow chaos across the land to keep legitimate governments on the defensive, to sow resentment of that government in its people so they look for an alternative, and to capitalize on that resentment at election time. One of the many mechanisms to sow this chaos is through our broken immigration system.

Under the Biden Administration, a record number of illegal immigrants flooded across our borders, taking blue-collar jobs, soaking up welfare, and trafficking drugs into our communities. I have seen reputable accounts that as many as 50 million illegal aliens are residing within the United States. What does this have to do with the great City of Palm Bay? Everything. Our economy is decimated by record inflation because of government spending. Floridians can’t afford to buy a house because the demand is higher than the supply while we build out every square foot of our state to accommodate them. Vehicle accidents are skyrocketing, and we can’t keep up with our infrastructure due to inflation and rapid growth. On top of all of that, our homeless and suicide rate as a City is at all-time highs because American workers are being undercut at every turn.

The Trump Administration has recently released figures that there are 55 million more immigrants in the United States on some form of visa. At these levels, legal immigration has had a more detrimental impact on our country than illegal immigration. White-collar jobs, particularly in STEM and Corporate America are becoming harder to attain by Americans forcing them to accept lower wages or leave the industry they spent years studying and training to enter. My constituents that are still in these industries walk on eggshells because they have seen so many Americans fired and replaced with foreign workers.

Mass legal immigration also stunts assimilation and drives resentment towards certain groups. In Dearborn, Michigan, for example, the Islamic immigrants to this country have decided to descend in mass upon one town, dramatically changing the town’s culture in just a few years. A once great American city now must listen to the call to prayer five times a day, has streets named after terrorists, and has councilmen telling Christians that they should leave if they don’t like it. This is not sustainable.

Therefore, let it be resolved that this letter serves as an apology to those Patriotic Americans of the Hindu faith for the tone and for the absolutism of my statement, not however, for the message being conveyed. My message to end all illegal immigration and most legal immigration is critical to my constituents in Palm Bay and to saving the United States as a whole. it is so critical, in fact, that I would expect any American that understands the direness of our circumstances and burns with patriotic fire in their belly, to stand with me in this message to our leaders in Washington, D.C.

I also implore all of those reading this letter to message your congressman immediately and demand that addressing legal immigration be at the forefront of their upcoming agenda."

Chandler Langevin, Palm Bay City Council Seat 3

Langevin said he will not resign from his position.