Trump: Supports Musk on increased immigration

Published December 29, 2024 at 08.03

Foreign. After tech mogul Elon Musk urged immigration critics to “fuck themselves in the face” and argued for an increase in so-called highly skilled immigration from developing countries, US President-elect Donald Trump has now chosen to take Musk to his defense, reports the New York Post.

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Trump and the Indians

• Civil war around Trump – about increased immigration
• USA: Large companies employ 94 percent non-whites
• Elon Musk wants to fill the USA with Indians

Donald Trump won the election, among other things, on the basis of a claim that he intended to reduce immigration and initiate “mass deportations”, but now that the election victory is secured, there is a different tone in the chorus.

When Trump spoke to The New York Post on Saturday, he instead emphasized his positive attitude towards the US's controversial H-1B program for “highly skilled” immigration from, among other things, the third world.

– I've always liked the residence permits, I've always been for them. That's why we have them, Trump said.

– I've used a lot of H-1B residence permits for my properties. I've used them many times. It's a fantastic program.

However, the president-elect did not specify how property management could require specialized skills that are not available in the United States.

Trump's statements contrast with his previous line, calling for tighter restrictions on the H-1B program, notes American debater Nick Fuentes:

In 2016 Trump said the H-1B program “shouldn’t exist” because it is “very unfair for (American) workers.”

Now in 2024, under the influence of Silicon Valley donors, Trump says he used and supports H-1B.

This is the definition of selling out.
pic.twitter.com/dhjQ7SchpA

— Nicholas J. Fuentes (@NickJFuentes) December 28, 2024

The H-1B visa is a U.S. visa category that allows companies to hire “highly skilled” foreign workers in “specialist occupations,” such as technology and IT.

The program is designed to cover the shortage of highly skilled labor in the United States, but in practice is often used to recruit relatively low-skilled IT personnel, such as cable installers and the like, from, for example, India instead of having to pay American workers for the same job.

Critics say that the program is often abused by companies in this way, to recruit foreign labor that is already in the United States but at lower wages than American workers could have demanded.

At the same time, advocates such as Elon Musk say that the program strengthens the competitiveness of companies.

Musk has defended the H-1B program in strong terms in recent days. After a user on X (formerly Twitter) criticized the program, Musk responded:

“Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue in a way you can't even imagine.”

The so-called MAGA movement, that is, Trump's supporters among ordinary voters, is broadly critical of Elon Musk and Trump's new line on the issue.

Internet personality Laura Loomer and author Ann Coulter, for example, believe that the program undermines the conditions of American workers, creates serf-like employment conditions for foreigners and should be severely limited.

American workers can leave a company. Imported H1B workers can't. Tech wants indentured servants, not "high-skilled" workers. https://t.co/MRQc0zLjaT

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) December 26, 2024

Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon has also criticized Musk, calling him “a child who needs supervision” after the tech billionaire's latest outburst against his critics.

When Bannon made those remarks, Musk had sat down and blocked a large number of people from X, apparently because they criticized him and his stance on the immigration issue.

Musk is supported by his colleague Vivek Ramaswamy, an Indian billionaire who has been appointed to lead the US's new Department of Government Efficiency together with Musk.

“American culture has glorified mediocrity instead of excellence,” Ramaswamy writes on X.

Trump's statements are now considered to have settled the issue internally and are believed to in practice mean a policy change ahead of his second term, which is expected to be even more immigration-friendly than his first administration was.

His previous administration was known for prioritizing American workers and reducing immigration, and tried unsuccessfully to build a wall against Mexico, etc.

Now Trump seems to have chosen to prioritize big business's desire for low-paid labor over his own movement's labor nationalism, writes the New York Post,