Trump’s backing of H-1B visa program exposes cracks within MAGA movement
President Donald Trump drew criticism from those within his "Make America Great Again" base after he reinvigorated debate on one of his party's most controversial issues: H-1B visas. The visas...
By Fox News · Fox News
President Donald Trump drew criticism from those within his "Make America Great Again" base after he reinvigorated debate on one of his party's most controversial issues: H-1B visas. The visas allow U.S. companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers for up to six years. The issue resurfaced after Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham in an interview that aired Tuesday that bringing foreign workers to the U.S. on H-1B visas is important to "bring in talent" to the U.S. While Ingraham argued that the U.S. has talent at home, Trump said that wasn’t the case. ARE AMERICAN WORKERS BEING REPLACED? INSIDE THE H-1B VISA CONTROVERSY "No, you don’t. No, you don’t. You don’t have, you don’t have certain talents, and people have to learn!" Trump said. "You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say I’m gonna put you into a factory where we’re gonna make missiles." Trump also defended past remarks endorsing allowing up to 600,000 Chinese students to come to the U.S. to Ingraham, claiming that they must study in the U.S. so U.S. colleges don’t "go out of business." While proponents of the program argue that the program is key to U.S. competitiveness, critics argue that the visa holders are taking away jobs from Americans. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., promptly spoke out against the statements, claiming that she is "America First and America Only." "I believe in the American people. I am one of you.I believe you are good, talented, creative, intelligent, hardworking, and want to achieve. I am solidly against you being replaced by foreign labor, like with H1Bs," Greene said. "I am solidly against allowing foreign students into our colleges and universities, like 600,000 Chinese students, just to financially prop them up. If they fail, they fail. The system in place isn’t helping our young people anyway." Other Republicans weighed in and said the policy could play out poorly for the GOP in the 2026 midterms. TRUMP ADMIN REVEALS OVER 100 INVESTIGATIONS INTO H-1B ABUSE…