By Austin Packham 
Photo Credit: Deadline/Getty Images
Republicans are generally united in their efforts to combat mass illegal immigration, particularly along the southern border. Senate Republicans have recently discussed an $85 billion border security bill that is still in the works. However, the push to attract more skilled immigrant workers through H-1B visas has sparked a heated debate among prominent Republicans close to President Trump. Consideration of H-1B visas has pitted popular “tech bros” like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy against the more populist and “America first” faction of the Republican party. Some Democrats, most notably Bernie Sanders, have also pushed to reform the current system.
What are H-1B Visas?
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. companies to fill positions with specialized foreign nationals who enter a lottery for a chance to receive the limited number of visas issued each year. H-1B is classified as a temporary work permit, initially valid for three years and extendable for up to six years. The H-1B visa program was established after President George H. W. Bush signed the Immigration Act of 1990 into law. Its initial goal was to tackle labor shortages in STEM fields and healthcare, including the engineering and medical sectors.
As digital technology and AI evolve, the demand for foreign workers has increasingly shifted toward the technology industry, particularly in roles such as computer programming and software engineering. To meet this demand, a growing number of H-1B visa applicants are coming from China and India. Since 2006, annual reports from U.S. Immigration Services have shown that Congress has set a limit of 85,000 visa applicants each year. This total includes 65,000 H-1B visas for applicants with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience plus an additional 20,000 visas reserved for foreign professionals who possess at least a master’s degree from a U.S. higher education institution. Research presented by the American Immigration Council has shown that “H-1B workers complement U.S. workers, fill employment gaps in many STEM occupations, and expand job opportunities for all.”
Supporters of the Program
The political discourse around the H-1B program first gained traction on X after 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted a lengthy statement defending his support for H-1B visas. He further wrote that continued funding for the program serves America’s best interests. Ramaswamy criticized American educational values by stating, “A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.” Ramaswamy contends that America is not producing enough elite talent to meet the demands of a rapidly expanding tech industry amid the A.I. revolution.
Elon Musk, a fellow tech mogul and close ally of President Trump, supported Ramaswamy while making his case for backing the program. He shared a similar concern that there aren’t enough American workers with the drive and skills needed to fill these elite positions. Musk went on to clarify that the H-1B Visa program should be used to acquire “the top 0.1% of engineering talent essential for America to keep winning.” In the same tweet, Musk used a sports analogy comparing the recruitment of the most skilled foreign workers to “bringing in the Jokic’s or Wemby’s of the world to help your whole team (which is mostly Americans!) win the NBA.”
OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, Sam Altman, has also previously expressed support for acquiring top foreign talent. He emphasized “the fact that many of the most talented people in the world want to be here [which] is a hard-won gift; embracing them is the key to keeping it that way.”
Opponents of the Program
Critics of H-1B visas argue that the program deprives American citizens of high-paying jobs in the technology industry. Steve Bannon, a staunch supporter of the “America First” movement, stood out as one of the most vocal critics. He called out what he referred to as “big tech oligarchs” for exploiting the H-1B program, labeling it a “total and complete scam.”
Moderate Republican Nikki Haley has also been critical on the issuance of H-1B visas. She reiterated the belief that the tech industry was “being lazy” in its hiring practices and needed to “invest in our American workforce.” Haley appears to directly criticize Ramaswamy’s position, stating that the “offensive” part was “underestimating the American workforce.”
Additional criticism of the program emerged from progressive Democrat Bernie Sanders, echoing sentiments similar to those of moderate Republicans. In a detailed statement posted on X, he directly challenged Musk’s views on H-1B visas. Sanders’ statement elaborates on his disapproval of the program and his belief that it requires substantial reforms. He emphasized that migrant workers are exploited for cheap labor, which has “replaced good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad.”
President Trump Weighs in on the Debate
When asked about his position on H-1B visas after the debate erupted, President Trump initially stated that he liked “both sides of the argument.” He went on to add “I also like very competent people coming into our country.” In the same interview, the president mentioned that he has personally utilized the program before to fill positions in his own businesses. These roles included wine experts and high-quality waitstaff. However, President Trump’s perspective on H-1B visas has changed since his first administration.
In his first term, President Trump issued an executive order establishing barriers to the program by improving fraud detection in the application process. The order entitled “Buy American, Hire American” directed United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to adopt a more “targeted approach” to fraud detection by focusing on cases “where an employer’s basic business information cannot be validated through commercially available data.” This approach included “enhancing and increasing site visits, interviews, and investigations,” the USCIS website said. “These efforts will help assist in the prosecution of program violators and ensure that American workers are not overlooked or replaced in the process” it said.
These efforts proved successful for Republicans. Just one year after this executive order was enacted, the rejection rate for H-1B visas surged to a record high of 24% in 2018. At this point, it remains unclear whether substantial reforms to the H-1B visa program will be enacted, and which faction of the Trump wing will have greater influence over these potential changes.