LETTER: Visa and American tech workers
Whatever happened to the America First part of MAGA? Last week, Elon Musk agreed that Americans were too dumb and lazy to work in highly skilled jobs. His partner in DOGE, Vivek Ramaswamy, wrote that “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”
Both of these men, immigrants themselves, argued that the country needs looser immigration policies to allow companies to hire more valuable foreign workers in favor of the lazy and mediocre Americans. Both men have roots in a tech industry that has a history of laying off American workers in favor of H-1B visa holders from India and China who will work longer hours for far less money.
They seem to agree with California Gov. Gavin Newsom that, across the board, from tech to Tesla-building to farm work and construction and the trades, the United States should encourage foreign workers to out-compete Americans. They don’t seem to align themselves with Steve Bannon, who says that immigrants with H-1Bs “stole American tech workers’ lives.”
No clear word from Donald Trump on where he stands.
