Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's support for H-1B work visas has faced backlash within Republican leadership, and as the program gains attention, President-elect Trump is seeking high-skilled worker visas. supported immigrant visas for Too complex and easy to exploit.
“I've always liked visas, I've always been pro-visas, and that's why we have them,” Trump said by phone. interview In the New York Post, published Saturday.
“I have a lot of H-1B visas on my property. I've always believed in H-1B. I've used them many times. It's a great program,” he said, as reported by the New York Post. added.
President Trump's support for the program comes as two of his key allies, Musk and Ramaswamy, who will run the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are among those within the Republican Party, including far-right activists. The move comes as Musk's social platform X faces intense scrutiny from the government. Laura Loomer and other hardline anti-immigrant Republicans.
The controversy further escalated late Friday night after Musk promised to “go to war” over the issue. post With X.
“H1B is the reason I'm in America, along with so many critical people who created SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong,” he said in the post. .
“I will fight tooth and nail on this issue that you will never understand,” he added.
The debate appears to have originated last month after Sriram Krishnan, whom President Trump nominated as White House policy adviser on artificial intelligence, suggested that Musk consider lifting green card caps for skilled immigrants. It will be done. Mr. Krishnan's comments resurfaced in recent days after Mr. Trump appointed him to the Cabinet of the incoming administration.
The controversy also comes as the Biden administration issued rules earlier this month clarifying who can apply for visas, after years of lobbying for a more streamlined H-1B process. Some Democratic lawmakers have previously called on the Biden administration to address flaws in the immigration system in preparation for an expected immigration crackdown by the incoming Trump administration.
