Cracks appear in the Maga world over foreign worker visas

High-profile supporters of President-elect Donald Trump clashed online over a visa program aimed at bringing skilled tech workers to the US, a preview of possible tensions in the incoming Trump White House.

In a Thursday X post, Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Trump tapped to cut government spending, defended the H-1B visa system and criticized American parenting practices.

“Our American culture has revered mediocrity over excellence,” Ramawamy wrote in a long post arguing that foreign workers improve the competitiveness of the American economy.

But the post quickly drew backlash from Trump supporters who strongly oppose immigration of any kind.

The dispute unfolded online over the holidays, as top Republicans and far-right influencers joined in the criticism.

Ramaswamy’s vision for skilled worker visas was backed by Elon Musk, a tech billionaire tapped to co-lead Trump’s proposed “Department of Government Efficiency.”

Taking aim at American culture, Ramaswamy wrote: “A culture that celebrates the prom queen above the Olympic math champion, or the athlete above the valedictorian of a class, will not produce the best engineers.”

But Nikki Haley, Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations and former Republican presidential candidate, argued against the tech bosses.

“There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture,” he wrote in response to foreign workers.”

Haley, who like Ramaswamy was born to Indian immigrants, joined opposition to the visa program through far-right online accounts.

Laura Loomer, an anti-Islam activist who regularly spreads conspiracy theories but is also known for her unwavering support for Trump, led the charge online with posts viewed millions of times.

Earlier in the week, Loomer criticized Trump’s choice of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-born businessman, as the White House’s senior artificial intelligence adviser. Loomer wrote that Krishnan was a “career leftist” who is “in direct opposition to Trump’s America First agenda.”

Buoyed by X’s far-right narratives, she also called Indian immigrants “invaders” and directed racist tropes at Krishnan.

Loomer then accused Musk, owner of X, of “censorship” for allegedly restricting responses to her network posts and removing her from a paid premium program.

Echoing criticism of Trump over Chief X’s influence, he wrote: “‘President Musk’ is starting to look real…Freedom of speech is an illusion.”

Musk meanwhile defended the H-1B visa program how to attract the “top 0.1%” of engineering talent.”

“Thinking of America as a professional sports team that has been winning for a long time and wants to keep winning is the right mental construct,” he tweeted.

But online critics posted screenshots of job postings at their companies filled by people on H1-B visas, showing salaries of $200,000 and much less, and argued that these hires were not an elite talent pool but more well a way to keep American wages down. -Born workers.

The number of H-1B visas issued is capped at 65,000 per year plus an additional 20,000 for people with a master’s degree from US institutions.

Recent unlimited researchAn immigration consulting firm indicates that around 73% of H-1B visas are issued to Indian citizens, and 12% to Chinese citizens.

Trump has promised that mass deportations will begin immediately after he takes office. He has been a critic of the H-1B program and tightened eligibility for that visa during his first term.

His vice president, JD Vance, also campaigned against the program, but has close ties to the tech world. In his previous career as a venture capitalist, Vance funded startups that hired workers on H-1B visas.

In recent days, the president-elect also denied being unduly under the influence of Musk and the other billionaires who backed his campaign.

On Sunday, Trump told a conservative conference in Arizona that he was not under Musk’s control.

“You know, you’re in a new phase,” he told the crowd at AmericaFest, organized by Turning Point USA. “All different hoaxes. The new one is that President Trump has handed over the presidency to Elon Musk.”

“No, no, that’s not happening,” he said. “He’s not going to be president.”