Trump picks sides in MAGA feud, backs Musk on H-1B immigrant visas

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he supports visas for highly skilled immigrants amid the ongoing debate about the H-1B program among MAGA supporters.

“I’ve always liked the visas," Trump told  the New York Post. "I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them." He referred to the program as "great."

“I have many H-1B visas on my properties," Trump told the outlet. "I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program."

Trump has restricted foreign worker visas in the past. Senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller has been a big advocate for restrictive immigration, as well as restrictions on H-1B visas.

Miller had influence on a bill that would have imposed major restrictions on the visas such as requiring applicants to work abroad for at least 10 years, according to The Times of India, and for them to receive a high minimum salary of over $100,000 a year when granted such visas. 

The conversation heated up when former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted Thursday that the main reason tech companies hire foreign-born and first-generation engineers over “native” Americans is due to an American educational culture that promotes mediocrity instead of striving for excellence.

Elon Musk, co-head along with Ramaswamy of DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, posted on social media platform X Friday night, that "The reason I'm in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B."

"I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend," he added.

On the other side of the debate within MAGA world was former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and others in his circle who argue that many of the people who come to U.S. companies via the H-1B visas are not high-skilled workers superior to Americans with similar educations, but rather are brought here because they are significantly cheaper for the companies.