Social media posts by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, in which they argue in favor of expanding the visa program for highly skilled workers, have ignited a debate among supporters of President-elect Donald Trump over how such programs should align with his administration’s tough stance on immigration.
Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has appointed to lead his Department of Government Efficiency, defended companies that use H-1B visas, arguing that tech companies, including Musk’s own ventures, rely heavily on foreign workers. However, their stance has angered some of Trump’s most loyal supporters, who are pushing for more restrictive immigration policies that prioritize American labor.
During his first term, Trump limited access to foreign worker visas and criticized the H-1B program in the past. However, during his 2024 campaign, Trump expressed some openness to offering legal status to foreign-born workers who graduate from U.S. universities.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Musk emphasized that U.S. tech companies need “double” the number of engineers currently working in the country. He compared the benefits of foreign workers to a professional sports team recruiting top talent worldwide. “If you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win,” Musk wrote on X. In another post on Thursday, he stated, “I am referring to bringing in via legal immigration the top ~0.1% of engineering talent as being essential for America to keep winning.”
Ramaswamy, a first-generation U.S. citizen whose parents immigrated from India, agreed with Musk’s perspective. He argued that American culture has prioritized mediocrity over excellence, pointing to portrayals of “smart students” in sitcoms like Boy Meets World, Saved By The Bell, and Family Matters as evidence. He claimed that a culture focused on celebrating prom queens or jocks over academic achievers would not produce the best engineers.
However, their support for foreign workers sparked criticism from MAGA supporters who fear that an expansion of the H-1B program could undermine Trump’s goal of curbing immigration. Prominent figures such as far-right activist Laura Loomer, conservative pundit Ann Coulter, and former Rep. Matt Gaetz voiced their objections. Gaetz remarked, “We welcomed the tech bros when they came running our way to avoid the 3rd-grade teacher picking their kid’s gender – and the obvious Biden/Harris economic decline. We did not ask them to engineer an immigration policy.”
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley also condemned Musk and Ramaswamy’s stance, calling on the incoming administration to prioritize American workers. “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture. All you have to do is look at the border and see how many want what we have. We should be investing and prioritizing in Americans, not foreign workers,” Haley wrote on Thursday.
Musk and Ramaswamy’s views have found some support among Democrats as well. Colorado Governor Jared Polis praised their recognition of the value of immigrant entrepreneurs, while urging them to also consider the roles that lower-skilled immigrants play in sectors like agriculture and construction. “There are millions of Americans that work for companies that were founded by immigrants. Those jobs wouldn’t exist today if we didn’t let those immigrants in,” Polis said.
The H-1B visa program allows 65,000 highly skilled workers to immigrate to the U.S. annually for specific jobs, with an additional 20,000 visas for workers who hold advanced degrees from U.S. universities. Economists argue that the program helps U.S. companies remain competitive, grow their businesses, and create more jobs. The tech sector, in particular, benefits from the H-1B program, as it requires a specialized workforce. Musk himself entered the U.S. as a foreign student and later worked on an H-1B visa.
Trump has been vocal in opposing the H-1B program in the past, calling it a vehicle for “abuse” and criticizing it as a way for U.S. companies to replace American workers with cheaper foreign labor. In 2020, Trump restricted access to the H-1B visa program as part of his effort to limit legal immigration during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Trump’s position has softened in recent months, as he has indicated more openness to granting residency to highly skilled foreign workers. In a June podcast interview, Trump said that any foreign national who graduates from a U.S. college should be granted a green card.
Musk’s comments, which put him at odds with parts of Trump’s base, add to his growing influence in the president-elect’s circle. After Musk led the opposition to a bipartisan government funding bill, which Trump ultimately rejected, some Democrats mocked him as “President Musk,” suggesting he was shaping Trump’s policy agenda. Trump, however, has rejected this notion, stating, “No, he’s not taking the presidency. I like having smart people… The new one is ‘President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk.’ No, no, that’s not happening.”
