It’s one of the biggest policy hurdles facing the incoming Trump administration — and at least for now, the corporate interests appear to be winning.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), a close Trump ally, predicted that changes to the H-1B visa program won’t be a priority for the GOP majority this year.
“It may get into a package this year or not, who knows,” he said of a potential H-1B visa overhaul.
It represented a significant reversal for the president-elect, who has previously called the program “unfair” and “very bad” for American workers.
But there’s also the concerns of American workers that need to be taken into account.” Brakkton Booker contributed reporting.
In their conflict with billionaire Elon Musk over speciality foreign worker visas, immigration hawks think they have won a significant first battle. However, they are still privately concerned about their chances of winning the larger battle inside the GOP, especially in light of the growing power of tech tycoons as Donald Trump takes the White House again.
Musk acknowledged in a post on X that the H-1B visa program, which he had previously praised, “is broken and needs major reform,” capping the bitter public spat that broke out over the holidays between corporate leaders who depend on the labor of high-skilled immigrant workers and MAGA activists who support stricter restrictions on a program intended to attract them. “”.
However, the dispute has caused organizations that advocate for reducing legal immigration to have lower hopes for the incoming Republican trifecta, as the party’s efforts to expand its base of support have resulted in new ideological rifts. The “America First” camp now has to contend with the GOP’s traditional business sector, which values cheap labor, as well as the tech sector, which has only lately sided with Republicans.
The executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that advocates for less legal immigration, Mark Krikorian, said of Musk and his like, “You have to realize, even if you’re the most MAGA of MAGA people, these guys helped Trump get elected, and he owes them.”. “In my opinion, immigration should be drastically cut, but you have to work with reality. The H-1B program isn’t going anywhere, if only because Congress would have to take action on it and Congress isn’t even able to pass a budget. “.”.
In this new big-tent GOP, prominent tech entrepreneurs like Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy are bolstering the conflict between the populist base and established corporate interests. One of the most significant policy challenges facing the incoming Trump administration is this one, and for the time being at least, corporate interests seem to be winning. Immigration restriction advocates, however, are relying on allies in the federal government to implement administrative changes that reduce both legal and illegal immigration, even though they acknowledge that Congress is unlikely to significantly overhaul the H-1B program, a visa intended for workers in skilled or specialty occupations.
As many as three of his employees will soon be employed by the Trump administration, Krikorian told POLITICO, indicating the type of clout that organizations advocating for fewer legal immigration will have over the coming four years. Although Jon Feere, the director of investigations for CIS, is already a member of Trump’s “landing team,” the group of officials entrusted with acclimating the new administration to the Department of Homeland Security prior to inauguration day, Krikorian declined to name them. An inquiry for comment from Feere was not answered.
The well-known MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec, who is critical of the H-1B program, believes Trump will reintroduce executive orders from his first term that were intended to make it more challenging for U.S. A. businesses to increase the wages that foreign workers must receive after they are hired.
He remarked, “I wouldn’t be shocked to see them come back.”.
A request for comment from a Trump representative was not immediately answered.
Rep. The R-Fla. Byron Donalds. ), a close Trump supporter, forecast that the GOP majority this year would not prioritize H-1B visa program changes.
Regarding a possible overhaul of the H-1B visa, he stated, “It might be included in a package this year or not, who knows.”. Repatriating illegal immigrants to their home countries, securing the country’s borders, and reviving our economy will be our top priorities. “”.
Several Republicans, such as Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas, minimized the GOP’s disagreement over the matter and maintained that the party’s pro-business faction greatly outnumbers those who support immigration restrictions. He declared, “I think there are only a few people on the other side, and we have President Trump, Elon Musk, myself, and pretty much every other Republican on one side.”.
The Democratic Party is also experiencing similar divisions as it tries to figure out how to move forward after Kamala Harris’ defeat in November and strike a balance between its more corporate and elite interests and its long-standing base of racially diverse working-class voters who have shifted to the right.
Sen. Sanders, Bernie (I-Vt. had a rare moment of agreement with the MAGA movement on Thursday when he attacked the H-1B visa program, claiming that it is being used “not to hire ‘the best and the brightest,’ but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad.”. “.”.
Some conservative immigration restrictionists interpreted Sanders’ remarks as an indication of a broader change in the culture, even though he has previously made similar criticisms. They highlighted “the birth of a new politics,” former top Trump aide Steve Bannon told POLITICO. “”.
Labor groups also interpret the recent escalation as evidence that the new administration may be ready to implement H-1B reforms with bipartisan support. But if Trump keeps siding with those who want to expand or leave the program alone, they fear that window may close.
Trump essentially stated, “Americans need American jobs first,” according to IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson, who speaks for tens of thousands of engineers. “I actually met with him personally on this issue in 2020,” Hakenson said. “What’s confusing to me is that he seems to be saying the opposite of what he was thinking at the time, while listening to tech billionaires and employers about how the visa program should operate. “.”.
The H-1B visa program has long been a point of contention in both the Democratic and Republican parties, with politicians praising it for fostering innovation in the United States and increasing the pool of skilled workers. S. criticizing it for depriving American workers of high-value jobs.
High levels of fraud and abuse in the programs, including attempts by businesses to manipulate its lottery system by requesting more workers than they require, have been repeatedly warned about by federal agencies. Additionally, a Chicago Council on Global Affairs survey conducted in September 2022 revealed that two-thirds of Republicans who expressed a positive opinion of Trump wanted to see limited legal immigration, while a Gallup poll conducted in 2023 revealed that 73% of Republicans wanted overall immigration levels to be lowered.
In response to Musk and Ramaswamy’s calls for expanding the H-1B program, groups that advocate for stricter enforcement of immigration laws and less legal immigration believe they sent a powerful message over the holidays.
“They failed to understand how deeply this immigration issue resonated with Trump’s supporters,” Krikorian said. “The political aspects of this issue are not understood by the tech people. And they learned a lesson during the week of Christmas. I believe Trump learned a lesson as well. “.”.
Trump, however, seems to rely more on a different group of immigrants, unskilled workers with H-2B visas, but he did come out in favor of the H-1B program after the skirmish, claiming that the nation needs “smart people” and that he has many people with such visas working at his properties. The president-elect, who has previously referred to the program as “unfair” and “very bad” for American workers, made a tremendous 180-degree turn.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s top adviser, worked behind the scenes to try to limit H-1B visas during his first term. Miller is one of several immigration hawks who will have important positions in the new administration after Trump appointed him as his incoming deputy chief of staff for policy. Additionally, JD Vance, the vice president-elect, has criticized H-1B visas.
However, organizations that advocate for immigration restrictions, such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform, are concerned that Musk and other tech tycoons who are sympathetic to Trump might silence those voices.
Ira Mehlman, FAIR’s media director, stated, “If they have a disproportionate amount of influence, it’s like the fox guarding the hen house.”. “Look, these sectors are essential.”. We ought to pay attention to their opinions. Yet, it’s also important to consider the worries of American workers. “”.
Brakkton Booker provided reporting assistance.
