Days before Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president, a feud between Trump's technology allies and defenders of far-right MAGA (Make America Great Again) policies over H-1B visas exploded.
Former White House adviser Steve Bannon this week accused Elon Musk of trying to establish “global techno-feudalism” in a new broadside against the billionaire businessman.
Mr. Bannon's sharp comments on the controversial visa program that allows the hiring of highly skilled workers from abroad also led Mr. Trump's allies, such as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to urge U.S. companies to provide training. The incident comes as foreign employees who received the offer are trying to claim that it is necessary.
This argument has drawn criticism not only from Mr. Bannon but also from other far-right supporters of Mr. Trump. This is despite Musk and Ramaswamy, who are tasked with cutting government spending in Trump's new administration, softening their positions on H-1B. visa. In response to the backlash, tech leaders said the program needed to be reformed.
But what is the H-1B program that is dividing Trump's allies? Why is it so divisive? Did President Trump's own pivot on the issue contribute to tensions within the MAGA movement? And how will Trump manage the divide between his MAGA base and Big Tech? Is this sector, traditionally Democratic-leaning, leaning almost backwards in recent weeks to appease the president-elect?
Has President Trump overturned the H-1B visa?
The H-1B is a temporary, non-immigrant visa in the United States that allows businesses in the United States to bring in highly skilled workers from abroad.
In 2016, President Trump said the program, introduced in the 1990s under Republican President George H.W. Bush, was “very bad” for American workers.
Months before the end of his first term as president in 2020, President Trump imposed a temporary ban on H-1B visas, which was later reversed by a federal court.
But less than five years later, the next U.S. president came out in support of the visa system, saying, “This is a great program.”
“I have a lot of H-1B visas on my property. I've always believed in H-1B,” he told the New York Post.
These comments came at a time when Musk was facing backlash from MAGA supporters.
Musk played a key role in Trump's victory by funneling money into the presidential campaign and using X to promote MAGA hard-line views. That earned him President Trump's favor and influence.
But President Trump rejected the idea that Musk enjoys any significant influence. “No, he's not going to run for president,” Trump commented in a speech in December, days after the Tesla owner led an effort to kill a spending bill in Congress.
Experts say Mr. Trump will have to manage a delicate balance between the Silicon Valley elites he needs for his job-creation plan and the MAGAs who enjoy his political support.
What is the H-1B visa and which companies will benefit the most?
Jeanne Batalois, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said H-1B is the “largest temporary work visa” program in the United States.
There is an annual cap on the number of H-1B visas guaranteed, set at 65,000 H-1B visas per fiscal year. If the number of visa applications exceeds the upper limit, the number of visa applications will be determined by lottery.
Foreign workers must have at least a bachelor's degree and be employed in a professional occupation. Employers sponsor foreign workers in the information technology, medical, and publishing sectors. The visa is valid for three years, but can be extended for up to six years.
American and Indian tech companies and several consulting firms control the project. According to the Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a nonpartisan think tank on trade and immigration, six of the program's top 10 beneficiaries in 2024 will be American companies, including Amazon, Cognizant, IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Metadata. It was. The three Indian companies are Infosys, TCS and HCL. Capgemini, a French technology and consulting company, compiles the list.
But there is another major new beneficiary of the plan, according to NFAP data: Musk's electric car giant Tesla. In 2024, Tesla secured 742 new H-1B visas through the lottery, more than double the 328 it secured in 2023. Additionally, Tesla extended an additional 1,025 existing H-1B visas in 2024.
“Due to data limitations, we do not know the total number of H-1B visa holders currently in the United States. However, as of 2019, nearly 600,000 highly skilled immigrants were on H-1B visas. Approximately 120,000 immigrant workers working in the U.S. economy received new H-1B visas in 2024,” Batalova said.
But MAGA supporters aren't the only ones criticizing the plan.
Ronil Hira, associate professor of political science at Howard University, said the H-1B program needs reform. Problems plaguing the program include a poor selection process, including “eligibility standards being too low, resulting in a rush of applications,'' and “visa recipients being selected by lottery rather than rational criteria.'' He said that it would be possible.
What is the controversy surrounding H-1B visas?
The latest controversy began when far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer criticized President Trump's choice of artificial intelligence (AI) advisor Sriram Krishnan. Mr. Krishnan argues that the United States needs more foreign skilled workers to remain competitive in the technology industry.
On December 28, Musk threatened to “go to war” over the issue.
“H-1B is why I'm in America with so many detractors who created SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong,” Musk posted.
Musk was born in South Africa and held an H-1B visa before becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Ramaswamy pounced on the argument, saying technology companies hire foreign-born employees because of cultural differences.
“A culture that celebrates prom queens more than Math Olympiad champions and athletes more than valedictorians does not produce the best engineers,” he wrote, without mentioning H-1B visas.
But he later clarified that the H-1B system is “terribly broken and needs to be replaced.”
Bannon, who served in the Trump administration, called the H-1B program, which allows tech companies to bring in cheaper labor from overseas at the expense of American workers, a “total fraud.” . He is calling for the deportation of H-1B visa holders as part of a broader deportation plan.
He particularly criticized Musk, saying Tesla owners' “only purpose is to become billionaires.” That is his purpose,” Bannon told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on January 8.
“He will do anything to make sure his company is protected, gets a better deal, makes more money. Power, that's what he's focused on. American workers in this country are not going to tolerate that.”
Batalova explained that immigration has long been a controversial policy area in the United States. “Two existential perspectives are competing for the hearts and minds of the American people and voters,” she said.
He elaborated that in some respects, immigrant workers, such as those on H-1B visas, are seen as contributing to America's economic strength and global competitiveness. Another perspective sees migrant workers as competitors for jobs and limited economic resources.
Batalova said the fight is currently being reignited, “mainly due to voters' dissatisfaction with the government's handling of immigration after the COVID-19 pandemic, but also due to concerns about economic security and national competitiveness, especially regarding China. “Controversy is also a contributing factor,” he added.
“Big technology companies and business groups continue to lobby for expansion of the program, arguing that it is critical to maintaining America's innovative edge. Layoffs and employee turnover at various companies provide fodder for H-1B critics.
Who else has criticized H-1B?
Criticism of H-1B visas has also come from the left.
On December 29, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna told Fox News that H-1B needs reform.
“We can't underpay the H-1B people that are coming in,” Khanna said. The program “shouldn't be for accountants or entry-level IT jobs. It should really be for extraordinary talent. We need to strike that balance.”
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has also criticized the H-1B visa program. “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 indentured labor from abroad,” he wrote. Posted on.
Elon Musk is wrong.
The primary function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire the “best and brightest,” but rather to replace high-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured workers from other countries.
The cheaper the labor to hire, the more money millionaires make. pic.twitter.com/Mwz7i9TcSM
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 2, 2025
Who are H-1B visa holders?
Approximately 70% of H-1B visa recipients are from India and another 10% from China.
As the debate intensifies in the United States, some tech companies have withdrawn job offers to Indian workers, according to a report in the Indian newspaper The Times of India.
However, India's Ministry of External Affairs maintained that the H-1B visa benefits both countries.
“The economic relationship between India and the US benefits greatly from the technical expertise provided by seasoned professionals, with both sides leveraging their respective strengths and competitiveness.”Randhir Jai, Indian Ministry of External Affairs Speaking at a press conference on January 3, Schwar said he looks forward to further deepening economic ties between India and the US, which will be of mutual benefit to both countries.
Has President Trump softened his stance on other immigration issues?
Trump's campaign promises included tough immigration policies. He has threatened to carry out mass deportations of illegal immigrants and increase border security to prevent asylum seekers from entering the country.
A month after the vote, he told NBC's Kristen Welker on an episode of Meet the Press that he plans to abolish birthright citizenship in the United States, a policy that has been in place for more than 150 years. Ta. This right is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
But in an interview, the president-elect said he was willing to work with Democrats to retain “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children and have lived most of their lives in the country. .
As for H-1B visas in President Trump's second term, “No one knows what President Trump will do. Despite his calls to reform the program, he did nothing in his first term. It was a clear unfulfilled promise,” Howard University's Hilla said.
“Republicans control Congress (both houses of Congress) and the White House, so they have the power to change policy, for better or worse, or to maintain the status quo. They will use that power for change. Will they do so? Internal political considerations will determine the direction they take.”
