Trump defends H-1B visa, ignites furor from MAGA
By: Zac Anderson
USA Today
..... President Donald Trump ignited a wave of criticism form the Make American Great Again movement in defending the sue of the H-1B visa program, telling an interviewer the United States needs to "bring in talent" and pushing back on the idea that the country already has enough talented workers.
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Fox News host Laura Ingraham questioned Trump on the H-1B visas this week [11/12/2025] saying they hurt wages for American workers.
..... "I agree but you do also have to bring in talent," Trump said.
..... When Ingraham counted that, "we have plenty of talented people," Trump responded: "No you don't."
..... "You don't have certain talent," he added.
..... Trump's comments align with the view of many business leaders, especially in the tech industry, who have used the H-1B program to bolster their skilled workforce. The issue has been a sore spot for MAGA, though, and a point of tension for the Trump administration in the past.
..... Former Trump adviser Elon Musk, a tech billionaire, advocated for the H-1B program, drawing a rebuke from Steve Bannon, who served as White House chief strategist during Trump's first term and is a prominent MAGA figure.
..... Trump's comments to Ingraham about American workers "broke everyone;s heart," Mike Cernovich, a prominent conservative commentator, wrote on social media.
..... Representative Marijorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, wrote in a November 12 [2025] social media post that "I am solidly against you being replaced by foreign labor, like with Hibs."
..... Savanah Hernandez, a contributor to the conservative group Turning Point USA, called Trump's comments "disheartening."
..... "Trump needs to get out of his bubble and back on the ground listening to the American people who elected him to work for us," Hernandez wrote on X."His H-1B comment shows how out of touche with the base he has become."
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Trump has made it harder to get H-1B visas, ordering in September [2025] that every application cost $100,000.
..... On September 9, [2025] Trump unveiled the new restrictions on foreign national who hold H-1B visas that allow people with higher education or special skills to work legally in the United States. The president's proclamation sent hundreds of thousands of working professionals, their employers and immigration attorneys into a tailspin.
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The 1,770-word decree decried the "large-scale replacement of American workers" and "systemic abuse" of the H-1B program and lamented the growth in the foreign share of the workforce in computer and math occupations. It ordered restricted entry of H-1B visa holders except for those aliens who petition are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000.
..... The federal government caps new H-1B vises to 65,000 annually, with an additions 20,000 visas for people who have earned a master's degree or higher from an American higher education institution.
..... The visa category lets employers seek workers who are highly educated at last a bachelor's degree - to perform in "specialty occupations," according to U.S. citizenship and Immigration Services.
..... Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas, Dian Zhang and Lauren Villagran, USA Today