Musk is right in visa fight. Trump can secure border – and support legal immigration. | Opinion
Legal immigrants who can step into jobs in vital industries are essential to our economy, and they should be encouraged to come here.
The recent kerfuffle within the MAGA world over a visa program for foreign workers has revealed an important distinction in the immigration debate: There is a huge difference between coming to this country legally and illegally.
President-elect Donald Trump won the election in large part over his promises to secure the border and deport millions of illegal immigrants.
But Trump angered his base last weekend when he sided with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in their support for H-1B visas that bring in highly skilled foreign workers.
Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen from South Africa, is a particularly fierce defender of the program, as it has benefitted him personally and professionally, and he took to social media to broadcast his support in fairly colorful language.
Given Musk and Ramaswamy’s new “government efficiency” role in the incoming Trump administration, some have tried to show the H-1B visa dispute as an example of their outsized influence on the incoming president.
Yet, it’s perfectly logical for Trump to support the program, and it’s encouraging that he has done so.
'America is the land of freedom and opportunity'
Musk got the conversation going when he posted this to his social media platform, X: “The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.”
He followed that up by writing: “Anyone – of any race, creed or nationality – who came to America and worked like hell to contribute to this country will forever have my respect. America is the land of freedom and opportunity. Fight with every fiber of your being to keep it that way!”
Trump then offered his own support for the program. “I have many H-1B visas on my properties,” Trump told the New York Post. “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
That doesn’t mean Trump has suddenly abandoned his goal to secure the border and to deport illegal immigrants.
Rather, he’s simply acknowledging the vital role that migrants play after they legally enter the country.
Some MAGA Republicans have the shortsighted view of wanting to keep all immigrants out and ensuring all jobs go to “current” Americans. Talk to business owners, however, especially in the automotive and tech sectors, and you’ll learn quickly there’s not enough talent here now to fill those jobs.
Legal immigrants who can step into those jobs are essential to our economy, and they should be encouraged to come here.
Trump is right to want to enforce the law and the border
Immigration became a top issue for voters this election because they were sick of the Biden administration’s lax border policies, which led to a flood of migrants entering the country illegally.
A recent analysis by The New York Times found that the “immigration surge of the past few years has been the largest in U.S. history, surpassing the great immigration boom of the late 1800s and early 1900s,” and that net migration during President Joe Biden’s term is likely to exceed 8 million. The majority of those are people entered the country illegally.
The United States must have a secure border and follow its immigration laws, and the country needs to know who is coming here. We can’t send the message that it’s OK to flaunt our laws.
That is not cruelty, as many on the left claim.
Trump’s tough talk on deportations has Democrats up in arms, but some perspective is in order.
In Trump’s first term, when he also promised to be tough on removing illegal immigrants, he didn’t outpace the deportations that took place during both the Obama and Biden administrations. It should be noted, though, that most of the “deportations” under Biden were because of Title 42, which allowed for immediate expulsions during COVID-19.
Biden’s border policies have been bad for the country and have made discussions over improving the country’s immigration policies much more difficult.
If Trump succeeds in curbing illegal immigration, it should open the door for more widespread immigration reform. And we’ll all benefit from that.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at Paste BN. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques