Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will soon lead President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have repeatedly demonized undocumented immigrants. In recent days, however, Musk and Ramaswamy have both argued that Big Tech firms desperately need foreign workers – sparking controversy among the MAGA base.

Both Musk and Ramaswamy appeared to express support for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers. These visas have often been criticized by both the left and the right because they allow companies to rely on cheaper foreign labor. In addition, companies retain significant control over these workers. It is difficult for them to change jobs and if they lose their jobs, they may be forced to leave the country.

Musk argued on his social media page X on Wednesday that Silicon Valley companies need foreign workers because there aren’t enough “super-motivated” and “super-talented engineers” in America. His comments quickly drew criticism from conservatives who support Trump’s draconian immigration policies.

“The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the US is far too small,” Musk wrote. “Think of it like a professional sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you have to recruit top talent wherever they are. This allows the entire TEAM to win.”

The comments angered Trump ally Laura Loomer, who wrote that Musk had just “bought into MAGA 5 minutes ago.” She said Musk and his “Big Tech cronies” were trying to “infiltrate” the Trump White House despite opposing “MAGA immigration policies.” Loomer added: “You are still not our president. The real president knows that H1B visas are bad for America, and the real president is from this country.” (Two of Trump’s three wives were born outside the U.S. and his companies have used H1-B visas in the past.)

One X user wrote to Musk: “There are over 330 million people in America. Surely there must be enough of them to create your ultimate team? Why would you deny real Americans this opportunity by bringing foreigners here?” Another user replied to him before his account was suspended: “My son graduated with honors in electrical and computer engineering in 2023. He can’t get an interview, let alone a job.”

Ramaswamy further argued Thursday that tech companies need foreign workers because Americans’ work ethic isn’t good enough — and blamed the culture.

“The reason top tech companies often hire first-generation, foreign-born engineers instead of ‘American’ Native Americans is not because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy and false explanation). A significant part of it depends on the C word: culture,” Ramaswamy wrote.

He continued: “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympian or the athlete over the valedictorian will not produce the best engineers.” He hopes Trump’s presidency will mean an end to American culture in which “hard Work is more important than laziness.”

Right-wing commentator Mike Cernovich replied to Ramaswamy: “The Woodstock generation managed to grow the aerospace industry, the generation before the moonlight made America great.” The underlying message of your post is that we were all living in misery until We were rescued by H-1B aircraft. Then why did everyone want to come here?”

Musk himself is an immigrant, as Trump recently noted. In October, The Washington Post reported that South African-born Musk worked illegally in the United States early in his career. While he was working on building his company Zip2, he reportedly did not have a visa. He came to the United States in 1995 for a graduate program at Stanford University but never enrolled in any courses.

Derek Proudian – a former Zip2 board member and investor who became its CEO – spoke about Musk and his brother Kimball post“Her immigration status was not appropriate for legal employment as a director of a company in the United States.”

When Musk was asked about his own experiences with the immigration system at his super PAC’s town hall event, the world’s richest man dodged the question. He used a similar sports analogy: “You know, it’s like, I mean, it’s like, if you had the opportunity to say, you know, have LeBron James or Steph Curry on your team, you would do Say, “Yeah, that would make perfect sense,” he said.

“It is easier to get into this country as a murderer than as a Nobel Prize winner,” he added.

Musk added that fast-food chain Chick-fil-A should manage America’s borders because “they’re so efficient” and “the chicken sandwiches are epic.”