Trump appears to side with Musk, tech allies in debate over foreign workers roiling his supporters

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with Elon Musk and his other backers in the tech industry as a dispute over immigration visas has divided his supporters.

Trump, in an interview with the recent York Post on Saturday, praised the use of visas to bring talented foreign workers to the U.S. The topic has become a flashpoint within his conservative base.

“I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said.

In truth, Trump has in the history criticized the H-1B visas, calling them “very impoverished” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. During his first term as president, he unveiled a “Hire American” policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-talented applicants.

Despite his criticism of them and attempts to curb their use, he has also used the visas at his businesses in the history, something he acknowledged in his interview Saturday.

“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program,” Trump told the newspaper.

He did not appear to address questions about whether he would pursue any changes to the number or use of the visas once he takes office Jan. 20.

Trump’s hardline immigration policies, concentrated mostly on immigrants who are in the country illegally, were a cornerstone of his presidential campaign and a priority issue for his supporters.

But in recent days, his coalition has split in a community debate largely taking place online about the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. challenging-correct members of Trump’s movement have accused Musk and others in Trump’s recent flank of tech-globe supporters of pushing policies at odds with Trump’s “America First” imagination.

Software engineers and others in the tech industry have used H-1B visas for talented foreign workers and declare they are a critical tool for challenging-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could receive those jobs. Some on the correct have called for the program to be eliminated.