An immigration dispute has erupted among Donald Trump’s supporters over the long-established H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. companies to hire skilled foreign workers for specific industries.
Immigration hardliners argue that the program harms American workers, while supporters claim it helps the U.S. attract top global talent. Despite previous criticism, the president-elect has expressed his support for the H-1B visas, with tech billionaire Elon Musk also defending the program, calling it a way to bring in the “top ~0.1% of engineering talent.”
The tech industry has long advocated for an expansion of the H-1B visa program to bring highly skilled workers to the U.S. However, during Trump’s first administration, the program was restricted in 2020, with the argument that it enabled businesses to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign labor.
Musk, a South Africa-born naturalized U.S. citizen, explained that he and others who built SpaceX and Tesla are in the U.S. because of the H-1B program.
“Take a big step back and F— YOURSELF in the face,” he said in a post. “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
In a separate statement, Vivek Ramaswamy, who is partnering with Musk to lead Trump’s nongovernmental Department of Government Efficiency, posted on X expressing his hope that American culture will once again prioritize “hard work over laziness.”
Republicans who have criticized the H-1B visa program include far-right figures Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley also weighed in, calling it “lazy” for the tech industry to automatically turn to foreign workers to meet its needs.
“Invest in our American workforce,” she said in a post to X on Friday. “We must invest in Americans first before looking elsewhere.”
