Trump backs Musk in MAGA-world rift over skilled worker visa program

US President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with his top supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public debate over the use of a visa program for foreign tech workers, saying that he fully supported the H-1B visas opposed by some of his supporters.

Trump's remarks follow a series of social media posts from Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who vowed late Friday to go to “war” to defend the visa program for foreign tech workers .

Trump, who moved to limit the use of visas during his first presidency, told the New York Post on Saturday that he favored the visa program.

“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I believe in the H-1B. I have used it many times. It is a great program,” he was quoted as saying.

Musk, a U.S. citizen born in South Africa, held an H-1B visa, and his electric car company Tesla was granted 724 visas this year. H-1B visas are generally issued for periods of three years, although holders can extend them or apply for permanent residency.

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Trump appoints Elon Musk and other MAGA hardliners to administration

US President-elect Donald Trump continues to fill out his team with radical MAGA supporters, including Mike Waltz, a Florida congressman and outspoken critic of Justin Trudeau, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy . Trump's former rival Marco Rubio is expected to be named secretary of state.

The altercation was sparked earlier this week by far-right activists who criticized Trump's choice of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American venture capitalist, as an artificial intelligence advisor, saying he would have influence over the Trump administration's immigration policies.

Musk's 'war' comments were aimed at Trump supporters and immigration hardliners, who are increasingly pushing for the H-1B visa program to be scrapped amid a heated debate over immigration and the place of skilled immigrants and foreign workers brought to the country on work visas.

On Friday, Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump confidant, criticized “big tech oligarchs” for their support of the H-1B program and framed immigration as a threat to Western civilization.

In response, Musk and many other tech billionaires have drawn a line between what they consider legal immigration and illegal immigration.

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Trump plans largest deportation in American history

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is promising the largest deportation program in U.S. history when he takes office, but what could it mean for Canada? Adrienne Arsenault asks CBC hosts Paul Hunter and Catherine Cullen to break down her plan and its potential impact.

Trump has promised to deport all immigrants who are in the United States illegally, roll out tariffs to help create more jobs for American citizens and severely restrict immigration.

The visa issue highlights how tech executives like Musk, who played an important role in the presidential transition, advising on key personnel and policy areas, are now attracting the attention of his base.

The U.S. tech industry relies on the government's H-1B visa program to hire skilled foreign workers to help run its companies, a workforce that critics say undercuts the wages of U.S. citizens .

Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump be elected president in November. He has been posting regularly this week about the lack of local talent to fill all the needed positions at U.S. tech companies.

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