WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — 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.
Trump praised the use of visas to bring skilled foreign workers to the US in an interview with the New York Post on Saturday. The issue has become a flashpoint among his conservative base.
“I’ve always liked the visas, I’ve always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said.
Trump has even criticized the H-1B visas in the past, calling them “very bad” and “unfair” for American workers. During his first term as president, he unveiled a “Hire American” policy that drove changes to the program to try to ensure that the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most skilled applicants.
Despite his criticism of these visas and efforts to restrict their use, he has used the visas in his businesses in the past, something he acknowledged in his interview on Saturday.
“I have a lot of H-1B visas on my properties. I believed 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 changes to the number or use of the visas once he takes power on January 20.
Trump’s tough immigration policies, which focused mainly on immigrants in the country illegally, were a cornerstone of his presidential campaign and a priority for his supporters.
But in recent days his coalition has fractured in a public debate taking place largely online over the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Far-right members of Trump’s movement have accused Musk and others in Trump’s new flank of tech supporters of pursuing policies that run counter to Trump’s “America First” vision.
Software engineers and others in the technology industry have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, saying they are a crucial tool for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undermine American citizens who could take on these jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be abolished.
