WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with Elon Musk and other supporters in the tech industry as a dispute over immigrant visas divides his supporters.
President Trump praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the United States in an interview with the New York Post on Saturday. The topic has become a flashpoint among his conservative base.
“I’ve always liked visas, I’ve always been pro-visas, that’s why we have them,” Trump said.
In fact, President Trump has criticized H-1B visas in the past, calling them “very bad” and “unfair” for American workers. During his first term as president, he announced the “American Jobs” policy, which directed changes to the program to ensure visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most skilled applicants.
Despite criticizing the visa and trying to curb its use, he has also used it for his own business in the past, which he admitted in an interview Saturday.
“I have a lot of H-1B visas on my property. I’ve believed in H-1B. I’ve used it many times. It’s a great program,” Trump told the paper.
He did not respond to questions about whether he would seek changes to the number of visas or how they are used after he takes office on Jan. 20.
President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies, primarily focused on immigrants living in the country illegally, were a cornerstone of his presidential campaign and a priority for his supporters.
But in recent days, his coalition has been splintered by public debates, mostly online, about hiring foreign workers in the tech industry. Far-right elements of Mr. Trump’s movement have accused Mr. Musk and his new allies in the tech industry of pushing policies that run counter to Mr. Trump’s “America First” vision.
Software engineers and others in the high-tech industry rely on H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, saying they are an important tool for hard-to-fill positions. But critics say it disregards American citizens who could be employed in these jobs. Some on the right are calling for the program to be abolished.
