TOI correspondent from Washington: President-elect Donald Trump strongly supported and supported Elon Musk H-1B visas Even as the sensitive issue continued to rock the MAGA sphere over the weekend, spilling over into anti-Indian rants.
American nativists raged against big tech companies and Indian guest workers for allegedly exploiting the H-1B system to displace U.S.-born graduates, while MAGA hardliners began directing their anger even at Indian-Americans and legal immigrants and them to ask you to “go back to your country”. ”
Although Trump had previously said he opposed the H-1B visas, he stunned his MAGA base on Sunday by siding with Musk in the heated debate, telling the New York Post: “I have the visas.” always liked it, I was always in favor of the visa. That’s why we have them.”
“I have many H-1B visas for my properties. I believed in H-1B. I have used it many times. “It’s a great program,” Trump added, as MAGA hardliners protested strongly against “tech bros” like Musk, accusing them of duping Trump to enrich themselves by arguing that skilled foreign workers are needed to maintain American supremacy.
Trump himself has been criticized for using guest worker visas, including H-1B, H-2A (which provides temporary visas for agricultural workers) and the H-2B program (for seasonal workers in the tourism and hospitality sectors) to staff his properties, which has left him to support the existing system despite having embraced MAGA’s American Workers First principle in the past.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, he had promised to “end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program and establish an absolute commitment to hiring American workers first in any visa and immigration program.” The promise was never kept, although the first Trump Government tightened H-1B regulations under “extreme scrutiny” that made the visa more difficult to obtain.
Musk and other technology experts have argued that the H-1B visa program is critical to ensuring that U.S. companies can find highly skilled workers around the world to maintain American supremacy. “The reason I am in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that have made America strong is because of H-1B,” said South African-born Musk, who is himself a H-1B was. 1B visa recipient before becoming a US citizen told critics on his Platform
As the debate became more contentious and MAGA hardliners accused him and his “tech bros” of exerting undue influence on Trump and misrepresenting the H-1B “scam” to enrich themselves, Musk exploded. “Take a big step back and fuck yourself in the face. I will wage a war on this issue that you cannot possibly imagine,” he added.
MAGA hardliners, including Trump deputy Steve Bannon, provocateur Laura Loomer and commentator Ann Coulter, joined forces against Musk and so-called Big Tech for betraying American workers. “Please, please notify ‘Child Protective Services’ – they need to do a ‘health check’ on this toddler,” scoffed Bannon, a former White House aide and Trump adviser, even as Democrats and liberals seemed to relish the cycle within MAGA.
Loomer, who was exiled from Trump’s inner circle, continued to take on Musk on his own Platform X, accusing him of censoring it.
“Forget about immigration for a second. “The greatest threat to our country, freedom and humanity lies in the unchecked power of technocratic billionaires who have god complexes, access to defense contracts and openly declare war on dissent,” she wrote.