Washington DC:

US President-elect Donald Trump appeared to side with ally and tech billionaire Elon Musk over the ongoing H-1B row and said America needs “smart people” coming into our country. Mr Musk sparked political turmoil in the Republican camp recently after he vowed to “go to war” to defend the H-1B visa programme.

“I always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country. We need competent people. We need smart people coming into our country. We need a lot of people coming in. We’re going to have jobs like we’ve never had before,” Mr Trump told a reporter at his New Year’s Eve party.

BREAKING: Donald Trump aligns with Elon Musk in support of H1B Visa.

“We have to have the most competent people in our country. We need smart people coming into our country and we need a lot of people coming in.” pic.twitter.com/Cv3amxJjT0

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) January 1, 2025

Donald Trump has picked Elon Musk, along with Indian-American tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

About H-1B Visa Programme

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa which allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Tech companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China, and therefore, the sector has long called for more H-1B visas to attract highly skilled workers to the US.

But, Donald Trump’s first administration restricted the programme in 2020, arguing that it allows businesses to replace Americans with lower-paid foreign workers. With Mr Trump set to serve a second term in the White House, several of the Republican leader’s supporters and immigration hardliners have been increasingly pushing for scrapping the programme.

However, Mr Musk, who was once on an H-1B visa himself, and whose electric vehicle company Tesla has hired workers using the programme, defended the tech industry’s need to hire foreign workers. He had been consistently posting on X in favour of the programme.

“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley,” Mr Musk wrote on December 25 on X.

Debate Over H-1B Visa

However, a debate sparked when Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer, criticised Mr Trump’s selection of Indian-American entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Mr Krishnan favours the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the US.

Ms Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Mr Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. 

The debate intensified when Mr Ramaswamy criticised American culture for promoting mediocrity instead of focusing on academic excellence and success based on merit. “Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden era in America, but only if our culture fully wakes up. A culture that once again prioritises achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness,” Mr Ramaswamy said on Thursday.

He faced backlash for the comment. In response, Mr Musk called for removing “contemptible fools” from the Republican Party who oppose his immigration agenda.

“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 H-1B,” Mr Musk wrote on X.

Washington DC:

US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed immigration hardliner and close aide, Stephen Miller, as his White House deputy chief of staff for policy. Confirming Millar’s appointment, Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday, congratulated the incoming deputy chief of staff for policy on X, calling him “another fantastic pick by the president.”

Mr Miller was part of the president-elect’s first administration and served as his senior adviser and director of speech-writing at the White House. He was also a central figure behind several of Mr Trump’s policies on immigration, including the Muslim travel ban and the 2018 family separation policy.

Miller’s Stance On H-1B Visas

Known for his extremist rhetoric, Mr Miller was a frequent presence during the president-elect’s 2024 campaign, often seen speaking at Mr Trump’s rallies. Addressing Mr Trump’s infamous Madison Square Garden rally in New York which saw an attendance of nearly 19,500 Americans, Mr Miller told the crowd that “America is for Americans and Americans only” and promised to “restore America to the true Americans”.

Last year during an interview with the New York Times, Mr Miller asserted that if Mt Trump was re-elected, his administration would bring policies to restrict legal and illegal immigration. He also talked about plans to detain undocumented immigrants in camps while they await expulsion.

During Trump’s first administration, Miller helped in drafting the Cruz-Sessions bill that prohibited international students with a master’s or bachelor’s degree from working in H-1B status in the US for at least 10 years. 

Now in his new role in Trump 2.0, Mr Miller is expected to continue his advocacy for restrictive immigration policies, including limits on H-1B visas. He argues that the H-1B program can lead to American worker displacement and wage suppression.

Trump Administration And Immigration 

Trump administration’s stance on immigration has often been at odds with economic consensus, which shows that skilled immigrants and international students benefit the US economy. As president, Mr Trump did not enact any measures to increase access to H-1B visas, and his second term will likely be similar. Policies introduced during his presidency also saw a rise in visa denial rates and a narrowing of the definition of “speciality occupation,” reducing the positions eligible for H-1B workers.

In 2020, before Mr Trump left office, his administration published a restrictive H-1B rule, which was blocked by a court for violating the Administrative Procedure Act. As per a report by Forbes, the rule included numerous provisions to prevent companies from employing foreign-born scientists and engineers, such as changing who and what positions could qualify for an H-1B speciality occupation.

Taking his previous administration’s agenda forward, Mr Trump has also appointed former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Tom Homan as his administration’s “Border Czar.” In a post on his Truth Social platform, the President-elect said that Homan would oversee the border security of the US along with maritime and aviation security. He also stated that Mr Homan would oversee deportation policies.

Together, Miller and Homan are anticipated to work closely in implementing the Trump administration’s restrictive immigration measures.

The Forbes report said that if President Joe Biden’s administration does not finalize the H-1B “modernizing” rule before he leaves the Oval Office, a new Trump administration could issue the H-1B rule with its priorities rather than those of the Biden team. 

As per the report, the new rule would likely be far more restrictive than the current H-1B regulation or what US Citizenship and Immigration Services proposed in October 2023. 
 

New Delhi:

Following the row over his remarks on the H-1B visa programme, Indian-American US presidential aspirant Vivek Ramaswamy has said he understands what he wants to reform and stressed that the H-1B programme was “senseless”.

In an interview with Politico, Ramaswamy termed the H-1B visa programme “indentured servitude” and said he would “gut” the lottery-based system and replace it with meritocratic admission if he is elected US President next year.

The Indian-American entrepreneur, a Republican aspirant for the US President’s post, came into the spotlight after a presidential debate last month. Donald Trump is still leading the Republican race for the top post. The other frontrunners are Ramaswamy, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

Ramaswamy’s remarks on H-1B are in line with the tough stand taken by Trump during his 2016 campaign. Trump had, however, softened his stand following his election.

Behind the row over Ramaswamy’s remarks is the fact that H-1B visa is in high demand among Indian IT professionals. It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in jobs that require theoretical or technical expertise. Interestingly, Ramaswamy has used the visa programme 29 times.

.@Politico tried to play “gotcha” by saying I want to gut the H1-B system even though my companies have used it to hire foreign graduates from top U.S: universities. Well, U.S. energy sector regulations are badly broken, but I still use water & electricity. Turns out I actually… pic.twitter.com/EpbLY5S5Pc

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) September 17, 2023

Responding to the row, Ramaswamy posted on X, “@Politico tried to play ‘gotcha’ by saying I want to gut the H1-B system even though my companies have used it to hire foreign graduates from top US: universities. Well, US energy sector regulations are badly broken, but I still use water & electricity. Turns out I actually understand the things I want to reform: the foreign visa ‘lottery’ is senseless & the H1-B regime is a form of indentured servitude that’s a product of corporate lobbying. I’ll finally fix it.”

The Indian-American entrepreneur, who has said his parents came to US “with no money”, has pushed for tightening the immigration policy. Earlier, he has said he would use the military to secure borders and deport US-born children of undocumented immigrants.