President-elect Trump weighs into debate among supporters to back H-1B visa program

Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times on Dec 28, 2024

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday appeared to step into a raging debate among his supporters over visas for skilled workers on the side of Elon Musk, telling the New York Post he has "always liked the visas."

The comments came as Trump loyalists have been fulminating against each other online for days over the H-1B visas. Immigration hard-liners, including Trump backers like Laura Loomer and Steve Bannon, subscribe to an "America First" agenda focused on creating more jobs for American citizens.

But Musk, who is the world's richest man, and other tech titans have long supported the H-1B visa program, which allows businesses to hire skilled workers from foreign countries. They have argued, as Musk posted earlier this week, that "there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America."

In another post late Saturday night, Musk added: "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." He added: "Take a big step back and F*** YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend."

In response, Bannon, who served as Trump's chief strategist, called Musk "a toddler" on the social media platform Gettr, posting: "Someone please notify Child Protective Services–need to do a 'wellness check; on this toddler" and linking to Musk's tweet.

It was shortly after this point that Trump got on the phone with Jon Levine of the New York Post and told him: "I've always been in favor of the visas. That's why we have them."

Trump added that he has "many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H1-B. I have used it many times. It's a great program."

It wasn't immediately clear what properties Trump was referring to that rely on the H-1B program. His golf courses and clubs, including Mar-a-Lago, have long relied on foreign workers coming to the United States under the H-2B program to work as housekeepers and cooks. The H-2B visa program allows employers to import unskilled workers from abroad for temporary jobs if no qualified U.S. workers want the jobs.