Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other tech titans are warring with some of US President-elect Donald Trump’s staunchest supporters over immigration visas. Trump has backed Musk and praised the use of H-1B visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the United States, but the issue has become a flashpoint that is ruffling the feathers of his electoral base.
Trump chose to side with Musk in a December 28 New York Post interview in which he expressed support for immigration visas for highly skilled workers after a fierce debate that had been roiling his MAGA supporters.
“I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favour of the visas. That’s why we have them,” the president-elect told the paper. The H-1B visa program allows US companies to hire skilled foreign workers in specialised occupations. No more than 85,000 are issued each year and most are given to tech companies who bring in workers from Asia, according to US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Conflict of interest
But online, the claws came out. Hardline, anti-immigrant MAGA supporters came after Trump’s wealthy tech supporters over the future of H-1B visas and the foreigners who benefit from them.
