(Image source from: AP)
Days after vowing to "go to war" to protect H-1B visas, tech billionaire Elon Musk said Sunday that he would protect H-1B visas that allow skilled foreign workers brought to the United States “will go to war.” He said the system was “broken” and needed “major reform”. Musk and Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy recently clashed with supporters of President-elect Donald Trump over immigration. Musk and Ramaswamy, who will be part of the new Trump administration, support the H-1B visa program. In a post on social network X, Musk said he was "very clear" that the program was "broken" and "needs major reform." He responded to a user's comment that the United States should be a destination for "the best talent in the world" and that the H-1B program "is not the way to do that." Musk, who himself immigrated from South Africa on an H-1B, said the system is "easily doable" by significantly raising the minimum wage and adding annual H-1B maintenance fees that significantly reduce employment costs. be expensive”. From the outside instead of from the inside.”
Musk said last week that attracting top tech talent from abroad was "essential to continuing to conquer America." Ramaswamy, the son of Indian immigrants, shared Musk's views. He argued that American culture has long celebrated “mediocrity over excellence.” “A culture that praises prom queens more than math Olympians... will not produce the best engineers,” he wrote in X. Amid the immigration debate, many Donald Trump supporters are increasingly calling for an end to the H-1B visa program. . The problem escalated after President Trump hired Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan to advise the new administration on AI policy. Right-wing influencer Laura Lommer joined right-wing extremist figures like Ann Coulter and former congressman Matt Gatz in criticizing Trump's election.
He accused Musk and Ramaswamy of undermining American workers. A viral post on Maga Lomer, known for her conspiracy theories, said she was “waiting for the inevitable divorce of President Trump and big tech.” He said: We must protect President Trump from the technocrats. Musk responded to his critics and warned of a “MAGA civil war.” He also promised one of the critics: “We will go to war on this issue.” Donald Trump has taken sides in a public debate over the use of the H-1B visa, which some supporters oppose. Trump, who campaigned on restricting the use of visas during his first term, told the New York Post on Saturday that he also supports the visa program. “I have a lot of H-1B visas on my property. I believe in H-1B. I've used it many times. It’s a great program,” he said.
