Trump sides with Elon Musk in H-1B visa ‘war’ over foreign tech workers
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US billionaire Elon Musk vowed to "go to war" in defence of the H-1B visa programme for foreign tech workers, following a backlash from supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump and immigration hardliners.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WEST PALM BEACH, Florida – US President-elect Donald Trump on Dec 28 sided with key supporter and billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk in a public dispute
Trump’s remarks followed a series of social media posts from Mr Musk, the chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX, who vowed late on Dec 27 to go to “war” to defend the visa programme for foreign tech workers.
Trump, who moved to limit the visa’s use during his first presidency, told the New York Post on Dec 28 he was likewise in favour of the visa programme.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great programme,” he was quoted as saying.
Mr Musk, a naturalised US citizen born in South Africa, has held an H-1B visa, and his electric car company Tesla obtained 724 of the visas in 2024.
H-1B visas are typically for three-year periods to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations, though holders can extend them or apply for green cards.
The altercation was set off earlier this week by far-right activists who criticised Trump’s selection of Mr Sriram Krishnan, an Indian American venture capitalist, to be an adviser on artificial intelligence, saying he would have influence on the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Mr Musk’s tweet was directed at Trump’s supporters and immigration hardliners who have increasingly pushed for the H-1B visa programme to be scrapped amid a heated debate over immigration and skilled immigrants and foreign workers brought into the country on work visas.
On Dec 27, Mr Steve Bannon, a long-time Trump confidant, critiqued “big tech oligarchs” for supporting the H-1B programme and cast immigration as a threat to Western civilisation.
In response, Mr Musk and many other tech billionaires drew a line between what they view as legal immigration and illegal immigration.
Trump has promised to deport all immigrants who are in the US illegally, deploy tariffs to help create more jobs for American citizens and severely restrict immigration.
The visa issue highlights how tech leaders like Mr Musk – who has taken an important role in the presidential transition, advising on key personnel and policy areas – are now drawing scrutiny from his base.
The US tech industry relies on the government’s H-1B visa programme to hire foreign skilled workers to help run its companies, a labour force that critics say undercuts wages for American citizens.
Mr Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars helping Trump get elected
He has posted regularly this week about the lack of home-grown talent to fill all the needed positions within American tech companies. REUTERS
