2024-12-30 06:21:00
Tech magnate Elon Musk has called for “major reforms” to the “broken” H-1B visa system, just days after vociferously defending the programme and pledging to “go to war” over it.
Responding to a thread on X which makes the case that the H-1B scheme isn’t fulfilling its goal of bringing elite talent to the United States, Musk said, “I’ve been very clear that the program is broken and needs major reform.”
The entrepreneur, who emigrated from South Africa to the US on an H-1B visa, proposed fixing the system by raising the minimum salary for visa holders and introducing an annual cost for maintaining the visa.
Such measures, he argued, would make it “materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically.”
Musk’s remarks come as social media discourse intensified over the future of the H-1B programme, which allows US companies to hire skilled foreign workers. It is particularly favoured by Silicon Valley firms, but the far-right has attacked the programme, often resorting to racist rhetoric.
Over the weekend, US President-elect Donald Trump endorsed the H-1B visa programme, which has sparked a rift in the MAGA movement. “I’ve always liked the visas,” Trump told the New York Post. “It’s a great program. That’s why we have them.”
Musk and Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, both slated for roles in the incoming Trump administration, have been vocal in their support of the H-1B programme.
The Tesla CEO has argued that bringing elite engineering talent from abroad is “essential for America to keep winning.”
“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley,” Musk wrote in a December 25 post on X.
Ramaswamy echoed Musk’s sentiments, criticising a US culture that he claims celebrates “mediocrity over excellence.”
However, Musk has received severe blowback from MAGA hardliners, who have called for stricter immigration policies and accused the H-1B programme of being misused.
Critics such as Laura Loomer and Ann Coulter have argued for tighter restrictions, while former White House counselor Steve Bannon mocked Musk online, saying, “Someone please notify ‘Child Protective Services’—need to do a ‘wellness check’ on this toddler.”
Despite the backlash, Musk had adamantly defended the programme, stating, “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend.”
He also lashed out at “hateful, unrepentant racists”, warned of a “MAGA civil war”, and aggressively responded to H1-B critics online.
