Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) sharply criticized Elon Musk for defending the H-1B visa program, which has driven a wedge between two factions of President-elect Trump's most ardent supporters. .
Sanders, who has long advocated for higher wages for American workers, criticized the hike in foreign visa requirements for wealthy technology entrepreneurs, saying it would make some of the nation's wealthiest people even richer. did.
“Elon Musk is wrong,” the self-described democratic socialist said in a statement released Thursday, which he promoted on Musk's platform “X.”
“The primary role of the H-1B visa program is not to hire the 'best and brightest,' but rather to replace high-paying American jobs with low-paying foreign indentured workers,” he wrote. Ta. “The cheaper the labor to hire, the more money millionaires make.”
Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump now appear to agree on the merits of hiring people with certain technical abilities from countries such as India, arguing that there is a shortage of Americans with similar skills. are.
The program is popular with technology companies who use H-1B visas to help their companies scale, often at a lower cost.
But in recent weeks, he has come under fire, particularly among Trump's own working-class base, who largely share the positions expressed by Sanders in his statement.
The Vermont senator cited Musk's most famous name as an example of how reliance on such programs can negatively impact workers across the country who are struggling to keep their jobs. targeted one of the largest companies.
“If America really has a shortage of skilled technology workers, why did Tesla lay off more than 7,500 American workers at its Austin, Texas, factory this year, including many software developers and engineers? , approved to hire thousands of technicians? 1 billion guest workers?'' he continued.
Sanders also used the contentious debate to push his signature minimum wage increase, which remains stuck at $7.25 an hour.
“The bottom line is that it should never be cheaper for a company to hire foreign guest workers than American workers,” he wrote.
