On Saturday, President-elect Donald Trump defended the visa program that allows highly talented foreign workers to immigrate to the United States, making his first comments on a topic that has split his supporters this week.
In an interview with The New York Post, Trump stated that he is “a believer in H-1B,” which refers to visas awarded to thousands of foreign workers who move to the United States to fill specialized professions. During his first administration, Trump limited access to foreign worker visas and has previously attacked the program. However, during the 2024 campaign, Trump expressed willingness to grant some foreign-born workers legal status if they graduated from a US institution.
“I’ve always liked visas. I’ve always supported visas. “That is why we have them,” Trump told The New York Post on Saturday.
“I have multiple H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve long believed in H-1B. I’ve used it several times. “It’s an excellent program,” he added.
Trump’s comments are the first time he has spoken out on the issue since entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has appointed to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, defended the foreign worker visa program, eliciting sharp criticism from MAGA supporters hoping to limit immigration.
Throughout the week, Musk has strongly supported H-1B visas in social media posts, arguing for their relevance in helping tech companies, including his own, to flourish. Musk claimed in a statement on Friday that he will “go to war” to safeguard H-1B visas.
“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B,” the Silicon Valley billionaire said. “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
Musk, who was born in South Africa and holds Canadian citizenship through his mother, came to the United States as a foreign student and then worked on an H-1B visa.
Musk and Ramaswamy’s backing for foreign worker permits has sparked intense opposition from Trump’s anti-immigrant alliance. Republican Trump strategist Steve Bannon dubbed H-1B visas a “scam” on his podcast Saturday, joining a vociferous group of Trump supporters like Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and far-right activist Laura Loomer.
The H-1B visa program allows 65,000 highly talented professionals to immigrate to the United States each year to fill certain positions, with an additional 20,000 visas granted to such workers who have earned an advanced degree in the United States. Economists say that the program allows US companies to remain competitive and grow their businesses, hence producing more jobs in the United States.
Trump has previously challenged the H-1B visa program as part of his campaign to urge US corporations to choose American workers over foreign workers. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump accused US firms of exploiting H-1B visas “for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.”
In 2020, Trump curtailed access to H-1B visas on many occasions as part of his administration’s endeavor to reduce legal immigration while responding to the changing economic conditions caused by the Covid-19 epidemic.
Trump’s statements supporting Musk are yet another example of the president-elect becoming closer to the tech mogul. On Friday, the president-elect sent Musk a private message on social media, asking when he expects to return to Trump’s Florida club, Mar-a-Lago.
