‘I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program’ – Trump sides with Musk on the great H-1B visa debate
— RT (@RT_com) December 28, 2024
US President-elect also vows to GIFT Green cards to college graduates pic.twitter.com/XBcFqbXUwS
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with key supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters.
Trump’s remarks followed a series of social media posts from Musk, the CEO of Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab and SpaceX, who vowed late Friday to go to “war” to defend the visa program for foreign tech workers.
Trump, who moved to limit the visas’ use during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday he was likewise in favor of the visa program.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” he was quoted as saying.
Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Africa, has held an H-1B visa, and his electric-car company Tesla obtained 724 of the visas this year. H-1B visas are typically for three-year periods, though holders can extend them or apply for green cards.
The altercation was set off earlier this week by far-right activists who criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American venture capitalist, to be an adviser on artificial intelligence, saying he would have influence on the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Musk’s tweet was directed at Trump’s supporters and immigration hard-liners who have increasingly pushed for the H-1B visa program to be scrapped amid a heated debate over immigration and the place of skilled immigrants and foreign workers brought into the country on work visas.
On Friday, Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump confidante, critiqued “big tech oligarchs” for supporting the H-1B program and cast immigration as a threat to Western civilization.
In response, Musk and many other tech billionaires drew a line between what they view as legal immigration and illegal immigration.
Donald Trump has proposed granting automatic green cards to all graduates of U.S. colleges as a strategy to prevent brain drain and retain top talent in the country.
The proposal would apply to graduates from two-year colleges, four-year universities, and doctoral programs, regardless of their field of study or the prestige of their institution.
“When we lose phenomenal individuals from schools like Harvard and MIT or even lesser-known colleges that produce exceptional talent, it’s a loss for our economy,” Trump stated
He highlighted the struggles of international students who want to stay in the U.S. after graduation but are often forced to leave due to visa limitations.
These graduates frequently return to India or China and establish companies that become multi-billion-dollar enterprises, employing thousands of people abroad instead of in the United States.
“They leave with innovative ideas and plans to build companies, but when we send them back to countries like India or China, they implement those ideas there. The jobs and wealth they create could have been part of our economy,”
The proposal aims to ensure that the U.S. workforce remains competitive by keeping highly skilled individuals within the country.
“Companies need brilliant people to innovate and grow. Forcing the brightest graduates to leave not only undermines their potential but also hurts our businesses,”
Describing the current immigration system as counterproductive, Trump promised that under his plan, barriers preventing international graduates from staying would “end on day one.”
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