Donald Trump is still riding high as President-elect.
But he will soon have the job of managing a fragile coalition.
And Trump made one move for Elon Musk that stunned his supporters.
Trump weighs in on the visa debate
One of Donald Trump’s main issues since he first began running for office was tackling the issue of illegal immigration.
Most people in the country, including a growing number of Democrats, agree with Trump that America must take control of the nation’s borders.
However, there is less agreement about the appropriate levels of legal immigration into the country.
America is the most generous country when it comes to legal immigration, taking in 1 million people per year as well as thousands of refugees.
But some have begun to question the legal immigration programs, namely the H-1B Visa program.
H-1B Visa holders come to the United States to work in “specialty occupations,” such as the tech sector.
Big Tech companies are huge proponents of the H-1B program.
Elon Musk, for example, benefited from the program and uses it for his companies.
But many in Trump’s America First movement have noticed that the H-1B program is rife with fraud and abuse.
Companies prefer H-1B Visa holders to American workers because the visa holders must stay with the company that sponsors them for the duration of the visa, which can be up to nine years.
In other words, companies can get foreign workers at a lower rate than American workers and not have to worry about nearly as much turnover.
Both Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are big supporters of the H1-B program because it allows for America to bring in bright and talented workers from around the world.
While that may be true in theory, that is not the entire extent to how the program is being used in reality.
After a lot of online debate over the issue, Trump finally weighed in and sided with Musk.
Trump told The New York Post, “I’ve always liked the visas. I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them. . .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.”
Abuse within the program
Trump has taken different positions on the issue at different points.
He has spoken out in favor of various visa programs, but he also also protected American workers.
For instance, he fired the head of the Tennessee Valley Authority for not hiring American workers, which was the point of the TVA when it was first created.
Trump said in August 2020, “We want the TVA to take action on this immediately. … Let this serve as a warning to any federally appointed board: If you betray American workers, you will hear two words: ‘You’re fired.’”
PBS reported at the time that “Trump said the authority was replacing many of its in-house technology workers with contractors who rely heavily on foreign workers under the H1-B visa program for highly skilled workers.”
Some of Trump’s biggest supporters are still calling out the problems in the H1-B program.
Steve Bannon labeled the program “a total and complete scam from its top to the bottom.”
Independent journalist Ashley St. Clair detailed some of the fraud and abuse she uncovered in the H1-B program.
She explained on social media, “A big shot employment attorney in California called me last night re: H1B visa fraud / trafficking of workers. Here’s what she said: The market is cornered by visa body shops who apply for ~50% of the visas. The economics of it: These body shops are headed by former hiring managers from Big Tech companies. They bring people to America, rent apartments for them, and house about 10 together in one apartment.”
Not only are the workers supplied with housing, but they are also given training.
She continued, “They put these recipients through a ~4 week bootcamp of basic tech training, fraudulently rewrite their resumes, teach them how to interview. The body shops land them jobs, primarily at the companies these hiring managers came from, and pay the workers less than half of the money in hand. Ex. Job is listed as a $200k salary, but the company is contracted with the body shop *not* the H1B worker, and the worker is actually paid closer to $40 an hour. The body shops pocket most of the money and are making millions by essentially trafficking people.”
Some companies, including Apple and Cisco, source H-1B workers through third-party Indian IT outsourcing firms, hiring rudimentary workers with questionable qualifications as “contractors” to replace American employees. The outsourcing firms profit by pocketing the difference… https://t.co/jIWjxu46Ln pic.twitter.com/K3wQz0q1yE
— U.S. Tech Workers (@USTechWorkers) December 27, 2024
Others have pointed out listed visa positions such as cashiers and custodial workers, jobs that Americans can do that would not fall under “special occupations.”
While the country should always be on the lookout for innovative talent, American workers should not be put on the back burner.
Stay tuned to Unmuzzled News for any updates to this ongoing story.
