Skilled worker visas

Expanding the program, which is currently capped at a piddling 85,000 (65,000 plus another 20,000 reserved for those who graduate from US universities with a master’s degree or higher), is critical to the kind of economic growth and competitiveness that Trump supported all through his campaign. But for populists among his supporters — the ones who see every job that goes to someone not born on these shores as a loss — there is no middle ground. There is only “them” vs. “us.”

The current brouhaha over the visas began during Christmas week when MAGA activist Laura Loomer criticized Trump’s choice of tech entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan, who was born in India, to be a senior policy adviser on artificial intelligence, because of his previous stance on immigration. Then she drifted into a racist rant on X that included this gem: “You know, it was white Europeans who created the American Dream, and we didn’t create it so that it could be exploited by pro open border techies.”

Never shy about expressing his own views, Musk shot back on the social media site he bought in 2022 for $44 billion, “The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low. If you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be.”

And then he went off in a more obscene direction.

That spurred Trump adviser Stephen Bannon to fire back, saying of Musk, “Someone please notify ‘Child Protective Services’ — need to do a ‘wellness check’ on this toddler.”

Trump, who temporarily froze H-1B visas during his first administration in a misguided effort to stem pandemic-related job losses, attempted to put an end to the internecine warfare, telling the New York Post Saturday, “I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”

Well, in fact, Trump may have confused the program that brings tech workers into the country with the H-2B program, used to bring unskilled workers in as gardeners or housekeepers, and the H-2A program for agricultural workers. In fact, the Trump Organization properties make widespread use of both of those programs.

And frankly there’s nothing wrong with that either.

Tech companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, and Musk’s Tesla lead the pack in acquiring thousands of visas for their companies, according to a report by the National Foundation for American Policy. The foundation estimates that at least 300,000 potential employees were blocked from obtaining the visas by the cap. It’s also a system that rewards those companies that know how to work it and that have the resources to deal with the inevitable government red tape.

If Musk and his co-director on Trump’s effort to cut government waste, Vivek Ramaswamy, do nothing beyond convincing the incoming administration to cut that red tape, reach out beyond this nation’s borders, and invite in those with the talent and the drive to help build this nation, they will have done a great service.

There is also nothing contradictory about supporting a well-organized visa program that helps deliver the workforce America needs and still provides the secure border which Trump has also promised to deliver — Loomer’s ugly rantings notwithstanding.

Giving the United States access to the world’s best and brightest — who have throughout history contributed to its wealth and its culture — is essential to its future. Trump, by listening to those who know and operate in the real world, can help assure that future.