Trump defends foreign worker visas, siding with Musk amid MAGA backlash
CNNCNN — President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday defended the visa program that allows highly skilled foreign workers to immigrate to the US, 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’s “a believer in H-1B,” referring to the visas granted to thousands of foreign workers who immigrate to the US to fill specialized jobs. Trump’s comments to the New York Post on Saturday mark the first time he’s weighed in on the H-1B issue since entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tapped to lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, defended the foreign worker visa program, igniting sharp criticism from MAGA loyalists hoping to restrict immigration. Trump has previously opposed the H-1B visa program as part of his platform to encourage US companies to prioritize American labor over hiring foreign workers. During his 2016 campaign, Trump accused US companies of using H-1B visas “for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.” In 2020, Trump restricted access to H-1B visas on several occasions, part of his administration’s effort to curb legal immigration while responding to the changing economic conditions brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.