President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with Elon Musk and his other backers in the tech industry. as a dispute over immigration visas has divided his supporters.
Triumph, in an interview with the New York Post On Saturday, he praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the United States. The issue has become a flashpoint within his conservative base.
“I’ve always liked visas, I’ve always been pro-visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said.
In fact, Trump has criticized H-1B visas in the past, calling them “very bad” and “unfair” to American workers. During his first term as president, he unveiled a “hire American” policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure that visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most qualified applicants.
Despite his criticism and attempts to curb their use, he has also used visas in his businesses in the past, something he acknowledged in his interview on Saturday.
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I have been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. “It’s a great program,” Trump told the newspaper.
He did not appear to answer questions about whether he would seek any changes to the number or use of visas once he takes office on Jan. 20.
Trump’s hardline immigration policies, focused primarily on immigrants in the country illegally, were a cornerstone of his presidential campaign and a top issue for his supporters.
But in recent days, his coalition has been divided in a public debate playing out largely online over the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Far-right members of the Trump movement have accused Musk and others in Trump’s new flank of tech supporters of pushing policies contrary to Trump’s vision of “America First.”
Software engineers and others in the tech industry have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers and say they are a critical tool for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undermine American citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be scrapped.