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Elon Musk, who immigrated to the United States on an H-1B visa himself, said that the country must attract top global talent in order to maintain its technological and economic dominance.
Donald Trump and Elon Musk (AP Image)
Supporters of US President-elect Donald Trump are up in arms over comments made by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on the issue of immigration. Elon Musk has advocated for merit-based immigration reforms which Donald Trump supporters are not very fond of as they remain committed to an anti-immigration stance.
This came after the appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-origin venture capitalist, to lead artificial intelligence policy in the incoming Donald Trump administration. Sriram Krishnan supported removal of country caps on green cards for skilled immigrants in the United States in earlier comments. Laura Loomer, a far-right social media commentator, labelled Sriram Krishnan’s appointment as “deeply disturbing” which led to a social media firestorm between Donald Trump supporters and those calling for a fair system for immigration.
What has Elon Musk said on immigration to the United States
Elon Musk, who immigrated to the United States on an H-1B visa himself, said that the country must attract top global talent in order to maintain its technological and economic dominance. He said on X (formerly Twitter), “If you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be.”
Vivek Ramaswamy, appointed as co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency by Donald Trump, said that immigration to the US is necessary as the current culture in the county “celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ… will not produce the best engineers.”
What Donald Trump supporters have said on immigration
Lara Loomer, Ann Coulter and former Congressman Matt Gaetz, accused Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy of undermining American workers. Nikki Haley, former US Ambassador to the United Nations, said that the US should prioritise investing in American talent, asserting, “There is nothing wrong with American workers or American culture.”