CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday defended the visa program that allows highly skilled foreign workers to immigrate to the United States, marking his first comments on an issue that has divided his supporters this week.

Trump said in an interview with the New York Post that he “believes in H-1B,” referring to the visas granted to thousands of foreign workers who immigrate to the U.S. to fill specialized jobs. In his first term, Trump restricted access to foreign work visas and had previously criticized the program. But during the 2024 campaign, Trump signaled his willingness to grant legal status to some foreign-born workers if they graduated from a U.S. university.

“I’ve always liked the visas, I’ve always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump told the New York Post on Saturday.

“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,” he added.

Trump’s comments mark the first time he has spoken out on the issue since entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump tapped to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, defended the foreign worker visa program and drew sharp criticism from MAGA supporters those who hope to restrict immigration.

On several days this week, Musk passionately defended H-1B visas in social media posts, arguing that they are important to enabling tech companies – including his own – to grow their businesses. In a post Friday, Musk said he would “go to war” to protect access to H-1B visas.

“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 H1B,” the tech mogul wrote. “I will go to war over this matter that you absolutely cannot imagine.”

Musk, who was born in South Africa and received Canadian citizenship through his mother, came to the U.S. as a foreign student and later worked on an H-1B visa.

Musk and Ramaswamy’s defense of foreign worker visas drew strong opposition from anti-immigration advocates in Trump’s coalition. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon called H-1B visas a “scam” on an episode of his podcast on Saturday, joining a vocal band of loyal Trump supporters that also includes former Rep. Matt Gaetz and far-right provocateur Laura Loomers belong.

The H-1B visa program allows 65,000 highly skilled workers to immigrate to the United States each year to fill specific jobs and grants an additional 20,000 visas to those workers who have earned advanced degrees in the United States. Economists argue that the program allows U.S. companies to maintain competitiveness and expand their business, thereby creating more U.S. jobs.

Trump has previously opposed the H-1B visa program to encourage U.S. companies to prioritize American workers over hiring foreign workers. During his 2016 campaign, Trump accused U.S. companies of using H-1B visas “with the express purpose of replacing lower-wage American workers.”

In 2020, Trump restricted access to H-1B visas several times. This was part of his administration’s efforts to curb legal immigration while responding to changing economic conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Trump’s comments siding with Musk are another example of the president-elect moving closer to the tech mogul. On Friday, the president-elect posted a private message on social media that appeared to be directed at Musk, asking when he plans to pay another visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.