WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump has once again voiced support for the H-1B visa program, arguing that foreign talent is essential to train American workers and rebuild key industries like semiconductor manufacturing, despite growing calls from within his own party to end the program altogether.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump defended the need for skilled overseas workers, particularly in the technology and manufacturing sectors.
“If you are going to be making chips, we don’t make chips too much here anymore. We are going to be…in a period of a year, we are going to have a big portion of the chip market. But we have to train our people how to make chips. We used to do it, and foolishly we lost that business to Taiwan,” Trump said.
In a recent interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, the president dismissed the idea of deprioritizing H-1B visas. When Ingraham suggested the U.S. already has enough local talent, Trump countered, “No, you don’t.”
“You don’t have certain talents…And people have to learn,” he said. “You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory. We’re going to make missiles.’”
The remarks have ignited sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers and conservative activists who argue that the program undercuts American workers. Some are calling for the program’s elimination.
On Friday, the White House sought to clarify its position, noting that a proposed $100,000 application fee for H-1B petitions aims to curb abuses in the system.
In response to IANS, White House Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers stated that President Trump has “done more than any president in modern history to tighten our immigration laws and put American workers first.”
“The $100,000 payment required to supplement new H1-B visa applications is a significant first step to stop abuses of the system and ensure American workers are no longer replaced by lower-paid foreign labor,” Rogers said.
Rogers also highlighted the Labor Department’s “Project Firewall,” an enforcement initiative to investigate employers suspected of abusing H-1B visas.
“The Trump administration is protecting American workers by restoring accountability in the H1-B process, ensuring that it is used to bring in only the highest-skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations and not low-wage workers that will displace Americans,” she added.
Meanwhile, prominent Republican lawmakers have escalated their criticism. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene reiterated on X that she plans to introduce legislation to “ban H1B visas in all sectors” except medicine. She also claimed that ending the program would benefit the housing market.
“Ending H1B visas mean more jobs available for Americans and more homes available for Americans,” Greene said. “When Americans have good-paying jobs they will be able to buy homes as long as they don’t have to compete with legally imported labor on visas and rich powerful asset management companies.”
Republican Representative Andy Ogles echoed similar sentiments, declaring, “No more H1-Bs is a no-brainer. Let’s get it done.”
The administration’s policies have drawn legal challenges, including a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In addition, five members of Congress recently urged Trump in a letter to reconsider his September 19 proclamation on H-1B visas, warning that it could harm the India-US relationship.
India-born workers accounted for more than 70 percent of approved H-1B visas in 2024, largely due to extensive backlogs and high demand for skilled Indian professionals in the tech sector. (Source: IANS)
