Trump steps into skilled-work visa clash, saying they're 'great'

Jim Silver, Bloomberg News on Dec 28, 2024

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President-elect Donald Trump entered the fray in a debate over immigration policy that’s dividing his supporters, telling the New York Post he favors a visa program for highly skilled workers that Elon Musk has strongly defended.

Musk is among tech leaders stoking a social media storm this week over how to bring top talent to the U.S. — revealing friction between Trump’s Silicon Valley supporters and anti-immigration sentiment that helps fuel his base.

“I’ve always been in favor of the visas,” Trump told the Post in a phone interview. “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times.”

Many employees at Trump properties have H-1B visas, which allow companies to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations. “It’s a great program,” Trump told the outlet.

Trump’s stance may indicate an emerging alignment with Musk, whose backing for the former and future president made him the largest single donor in the U.S. election.

“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley,” Musk, who used an H-1B visa to work in the U.S., wrote previously on X.

Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tapped along with Musk to run a government efficiency initiative, also weighed in. He drew particular attention for a post arguing that “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence.”

Trump during his first term restricted several visa types including H-1B, citing the need to protect American workers as the COVID-19 pandemic led to job losses in the U.S. President Joe Biden let the measures expire.

Trump’s comments on Saturday hint at his malleability on policy specifics and penchant for letting supporters battle over issues before stepping in.

The dispute began after Laura Loomer, a far-right activist with longstanding ties to the president-elect, criticized his decision to name Indian-born investor Sriram Krishnan as a senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence.

Loomer assailed previous comments by Krishnan advocating for increased access to green cards and skilled worker visas, calling it antithetical to Trump’s “America First” stance.

That prompted pushback from Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who argued that U.S. companies needed to recruit top talent from across the world to remain competitive.

The clash may frame how the incoming administration approaches immigration, which has long bedeviled U.S. policymakers, including Trump’s first administration.

Trump himself offered a more open approach to visas when prompted during a podcast interview with venture capitalists David Sacks, Chamath Palihapitiya and Jason Calacanis and entrepreneur David Friedberg.

“You graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically as part of your diploma a green card to be able to stay in this country and that includes junior colleges too,” Trump said.