Trump’s H-1B Push Gets Blowback From ‘America-First’ Republicans

Some conservative lawmakers are criticizing President Donald Trump for supporting more visas to allow entry of high-skilled foreign workers into the United States.

Trump has suggested the United States lacked talent to fill certain jobs after increasing restrictions on H-1B visas — which allow immigrants to work temporarily in the US in specialty jobs — as part of his crackdown on limiting foreign nationals from entering the country. But the White House is now facing rare push back from the party’s right flank who are arguing for a higher reduction of immigration.

“I have massive concerns with H-1Bs. I have massive concerns with immigration generally,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Bloomberg Government. “Legal immigration, in my opinion, needs to be effectively paused or frozen while we figure our system out. Chain migration, diversity visas and H1B visas are all being abused.”

The Trump administration had recently sought to make it more difficult to get H-1B visas, which have largely benefited technology companies.

Trump signed a presidential proclamation in September implementing a $100,000 fee for skilled worker visas in hopes of discouraging applicants to the program. Previously, companies were only required to pay $215 per registration.

But Trump, who has supported H-1Bs in the past, recently signaled he’s back to favoring them. The president told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Sunday he said the US did not have “certain talents” needed to fill high-level jobs.

The comments immediately got intense pushback from “America First” backers who want to prioritize domestic workers.

“I rarely disagree with the president, but this is something I disagree with him on,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said in a brief interview. “We have a lot of talent here and I think a lot of our good jobs end up going to foreigners.”

Crane added the federal government should even restrict more individuals from some countries considered to be adversarial against the U.S.

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) raised concerns about some H-1B visa workers eligibility for Social Security benefits, which are already strained. Gosar said the system is being “abused” by foreign workers who can receive some benefits with the right requirements.

In a tweet, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said she was “solidly against” H-1B visas and reiterated her stance that she is “America First and America Only.”

Legislative Limits

Some lawmakers are also seeking to go further to reduce H-1B visas and limit entry to foreign nationals through legislation.

Roy is planning to introduce his PAUSE Act next week, which would freeze all immigration and end the H-1B program in totality. Gosar has also previously introduced legislation that would end some programs aimed at bringing in high-skilled workers and recent foreign graduates into the United States.

However, most major businesses have been supportive of the H-1B program, including much of Silicon Valley. Apple, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, for example, have expanded their use of H-1B visas to bring in foreign talent.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who was once a close ally to Trump, has been a vocal advocate for the H-1B visa program, as well as Trump-backed Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Other Republicans on Capitol Hill have also welcomed Trump’s new stance, particularly as the party grapples with political pushback over going too far on curbing both illegal and legal immigration.

Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas), who could face a more competitive race due to redistricting, spoke to the White House earlier this month to push them on being more open to some visas. In addition to H-1B visas, De La Cruz is advocating for the administration to support H-2B visas, which support lower-level, non agricultural work.

“In deep south Texas, our economy is dependent on those workers,” De La Cruz said. “We want to make sure we have a process that is streamlined for our immigrants to work these tough jobs.”

Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.), who has been a critic of Trump over mass deportations, supported the president in a tweet saying US businesses rely on immigrants “who can’t simply be replaced.”

The White House defended the administration’s changes to the H-1B visa program and argued Trump has been the toughest enforcer of immigration laws in modern history.

“The Trump administration is protecting American workers by restoring accountability in the H1-B process, ensuring that it is used to bring in only the highest-skilled foreign workers in specialty occupations and not low wage workers that will displace Americans,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement.

The White House also cited the Labor Department’s “Project Firewall” initiative to investigate abuses of the program. More than 175 cases have been opened under the initiative to probe potential H-1B abuses by employers since its launch in September.