Recent social media comments by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, picked by President-elect Donald Trump to advise him and direct his new “Department of Government Efficiency,” have sparked a backlash within the Republican Party. Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy have expressed support for high-skilled foreign workers coming to the United States on H-1B temporary work visas, but many Trump supporters are strongly opposed to immigration of any kind. Their differences were amplified when Trump chose a venture capitalist, Sriram Krishnan, an Indian immigrant who has advocated for skilled-worker green cards, as a top senior adviser on artificial intelligence.

Mr. Musk, originally from South Africa, previously immigrated to Canada before coming to the United States and becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2002. He previously said he was on an H-1B visa. More recently, he said on his social media platform, X, that “the number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.” He urged people to think “of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever they may be. That enables the whole TEAM to win.” He also said that there is a “permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” On December 27, 2024, Mr. Musk said he was ready to go to “war” over the issue.

Mr. Ramaswamy, whose parents are Indian immigrants, recently said a reason for the need for foreign workers was an American culture that venerates “mediocrity over excellence” and that he hoped the Trump administration would start a culture of “hard work over laziness.” However, Mr. Ramaswamy, who used the H-1B program dozens of times to hire foreign workers for his former company, previously said the H-1B program as currently structured is “bad for everyone involved” and that he would “gut” it. He has also expressed support for Trump’s mass deportation plans and advocated for sending the U.S. military to the United States’ northern and southern border zones.

It is unclear what President-elect Trump will do in his second administration. In his first administration, he worked to curb immigration—including frequently requesting additional documentation for skilled-worker applications—but his new selections of pro-H-1B tech company heads as advisers, along with recent comments supporting the idea of green cards for educated foreign workers, seem at odds with the anti-immigrant sentiments and plans he expressed during his second presidential campaign. However, on December 28, 2024, Mr. Trump reportedly said, “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.” Also referring to the H-1B program, he said, “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them.” According to reports, Mr. Trump employs workers under the H-2A (temporary agricultural workers) and H-2B (seasonal workers) programs.