Flip-Flop: Trump’s New Love For H-1B Visas Completely Contradicts Campaign Statements, Cheap Labor Continues As Usual To Pacify Musk

Broadly speaking, the H-1B visa program was introduced in 1990 and allows the U.S. to recruit foreign workers in emerging work fields such as engineering and science sectors, but because of some of the loopholes the visa program allows the U.S. to outsource jobs to foreign low-wage workers, which in turn then displaces established American jobs.

The change in posture was revealed after Elon Musk put out a series of posts defending the H-1B visa program, saying that he is a major supporter of the program as it has benefited his companies and will continue to go to bat for it, thus sparking a wider feud in conservative circles and MAGA fanbases.

On December 25th, Musk posted on X that he believes there are not enough “super talented” and “super motivated” engineers in the U.S. “The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” he wrote. “Think of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win.”

He followed that by saying there is a “shortage of excellent engineering talent,” which is a “fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.”

The debate was then picked up by Vivek Ramaswamy, a partner with Musk in Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who also defended the visa system. He argued that tech companies rely on foreign workers because America lacks a good enough work ethic and that American culture “venerate[s] mediocrity over excellence.”

“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture,” Ramaswamy added.

He noted that 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 prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.”

Another user mocked Musk by using a common line he often uses, saying, “Stop trying to optimize something that shouldn’t exist. Let’s optimize H-1B.”

Musk replied, “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 H1B.”

As criticism and debate continued to fall Musk’s way, the owner of X then became acerbic in his responses, at one point telling this same user to go “F*** YOURSELF in the face,” and that he would “go to war on this issue.”

And to top it all off, there is evidence that Musk and those at X are deleting posts that do not agree with his position, referring to some MAGA supporters as “contemptible fools” and suggested they be removed.

Information Liberation documented a number of accounts that were purged after openly criticizing Musk, which he labeled “coordinated reply spammers/scammers.”

Trump had remained quiet throughout this online debate, that was until he broke silence on December 28th when he affirmed his love for the H-1B visas in an interview with 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,” Trump said. “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.”

Trump’s recent comments stand in complete variance to what Trump has previously said about them, including his own policies that he enacted to try and limit the abuses of the system.

Before being elected President for the first time, in March, 2016, Trump claimed H-1B is not about bringing in high-skilled talent, but referred to it as a “cheap labor program” used to displace American workers.

Megyn Kelly asked about highly-skilled immigration. The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay.

I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements.

I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions.

Trump said in 2016

After Trump affirmed his latest stance on the visa program, he was point-blank asked on December 31st why he changed his opinion. Trump claimed he did not change his tune.

I didn’t change my mind I’ve always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country. We need competent people, we need smart people coming in to our country, we need a lot of people coming in. We’re going to have jobs like we’ve never had before.

Trump told a press reporter

BREAKING: Trump fires back at claims he "changed his mind" on H-1B visas, says we need "a lot of people coming in"

"I didn't change my mind. I've always felt we have to have the most competent people in our country. We need competent people. We need smart people coming into our… pic.twitter.com/R7LOBS1AVt

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 1, 2025

A number of Trump supporters expressed their disappointment on social media, Newsweek reported.

Meidas Touch compiled Trump’s hypocrisy over the years from then to now.

Yahoo Finance reporter Jordan Weissmann wrote in a post on X: “By 2014, about 70% of the Silicon Valley tech workforce was foreign born; 41% were noncitizens. The entire ecosystem runs on international talent.”

Immigration attorney Paul Herzog also weighed in, writing: “The whole debate over H-1Bs and legal immigration confirms that most people have no idea how our legal immigration system works, or how their economy works-and they’re not interested in finding out.”

As confirmed by mainstream press, the revival of the H-1B visa program is great for big business.

Barron’s reported:

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[Trump’s] enthusiasm points to a positive outcome for Amazon and Google, two of the companies to get the most Labor Condition Applications approved in fiscal 2024.

These documents, known as LCAs, must be filed with the Department of Labor to employ nonimmigrant workers on several types of visas including H-1Bs.

Data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that Amazon.com remained a top sponsor for foreign workers in fiscal 2024.

The online retailer had the most H-1B petitions approved for initial employment, at 3,871. Google came in eighth, with 1,058 applications approved, right below Microsoft’s 1,264 petitions.

Many of the top sponsors are large-cap technology companies such as Infosys, Apple, and Meta. Cognizant Technology Solutions, a New Jersey-based IT and consulting company, had the second-most LCAs approved for initial employment, at 2,837.

Trump’s shifting stance on the H-1B program aligns him with billionaire capitalists like Elon Musk, whose own company, Tesla, is among the top employers of H-1B visa holders.

In fiscal 2024 alone, the auto maker had 742 approved H-1B petitions for initial employment—more than double the 328 approved in 2023 and the 337 approved in 2022.

The National Foundation for American Policy noted that Tesla “showed a significant increase in H-1B approved petitions,” propelling it into the top 25 employers after failing to make the ranking in prior years.

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

Proverbs 25:19 Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.

Surprise, surprise, orange-man has proven once again to be a hypocrite and a liar. Regulars of The WP know that I have repeatedly said for years that this immigration issue was not going to stop nor can it be, because this nation is under a curse from God. We are homeborn slaves while illegals and cheap labor are favored over American taxpaying citizens. It cannot stop: God will not allow it.

Deuteronomy 28:43 The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. [44] He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail.

American greed and big business wins the day.

The United States has refused to properly educate Americans for decades, with each graduating class slipping, I’d venture to say, at least one IQ point annually, to the point now where many of them are simply incompetent and functionally illiterate. Furthermore, many Americans had become spoiled and entitled, and many of them social activists and pseudo-intellectuals, not to mention that DEI only compounded the problem.

But on top of this, the crux of the matter is that corporations do not want to pay Americans a real living wage. They would much rather import cheap labor, who is willing to work faster for less; and these companies couldn’t care less if American workers are displaced, if they bring in foreign workers or if the job is shipped overseas.

Trump and Musk’s position on this issue PERFECTLY exemplifies what I wrote in my article a few weeks ago, “‘None Saith, Restore’ – Politicians Deceive With Coded Language, And No One Really Wants Change”. In that piece I wrote:

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The key takeaway is the underlined portion of that passage and those in Isaiah 42. Have you noticed how the politicians and the media love to use these cute little phrases that always seem to have some coded, esoteric meaning behind them? There are many examples I could cite but I’ll list a few.

For example, take one of the many phrases President Donald Trump loves to say: “America First.” Now, at first glance the average American would not think too much of that, especially his voter base; who interprets this as a grassroots populist, pro-worker, nationalist and jingoist message that is simple and direct.

But if you think about it, taken at surface level, as most people do when they hear these soundbites in the media, what does that actually mean? I guess another question should be, how are we defining “America?” Do you mean the institution? Do you mean the transcontinental shopping mall, this consumerist, corporate, soul-sucking wage-slave society, where everyone hates each other, the food stinks, and everyone is on drugs, sick and dead inside and out? Do you mean the military industrial complex, and its endless conquest and colonialism, its bloodthirsty and greedy warmongering and genociding? You mean that “America?”

[…] Have you ever pondered why isn’t the message, ‘The people first?’

Some are going to say I am splitting hairs and straining at a gnat, but I ask these questions to get you to really think about what we are being told. Of course, those locked into their echo-chambers have already made up their minds and will not be swayed – “Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.” But I pose these questions considering what we know of Trump (and not just him, as I will also address in a moment), his track record and the things that he has said.

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I encourage you to read the rest of the article for additional evidence I give that backs my thesis; but not to toot my own horn, I was completely accurate in my assessment, and this H-1B Visa issue is the cherry on top of my analysis.

Once again, if you drank the MAGA and Musk Kool-Aid, then I don’t know what to tell you. The evidence that these two clowns are phonies, Vivek included – who made his money from peddling vaccines and deadly pharmaceuticals – has been out there for all to see. Business as usual.

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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