Tech magnate Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy sparked a heated online debate over the contentious H-1B visa program, putting them at odds with MAGA hardliners who see high-skilled immigration as a threat to American workers.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations requiring specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher. These occupations often include fields like IT, engineering, mathematics, and medicine.
As of September 30, 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) estimated that approximately 583,420 individuals were authorized to work in the United States under the H-1B visa classification.
Each fiscal year, there is a congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas, with an additional 20,000 visas available for individuals holding a master’s degree or higher from a U.S. institution, totaling 85,000 new H-1B visas annually.
On Christmas Day, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will soon head President-elect Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), clashed with the MAGA movement over the contentious H-1B visa program and immigration.
The controversy erupted after entrepreneur Mario Nawfal highlighted a critical shortage of engineering talent in the United States, citing a skyrocketing demand for AI experts and a projected need for 160,000 engineers in the semiconductor industry by 2032.
Musk responded with a now-viral post, arguing that the U.S. needs “double” the current number of engineers, lamenting a “dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated” American professionals.
Musk ompared America’s need for high-skilled immigrants to professional sports teams recruiting top players from around the world.
“The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” Musk wrote.
“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.”
No, we need more like double that number yesterday!
The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low.
Think of this like a pro sports team: if you want your TEAM to win the championship, you need to recruit top talent wherever…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 25, 2024
One user responded to Musk’s comment, saying, “There are over 330 million people in America. Surely, there must be enough among them to build your ultimate team? Why would you deny real Americans that opportunity by bringing foreigners here?”
Musk doubled down, saying, “Your understanding of the situation is upside-down and backwards. OF COURSE my companies and I would prefer to hire Americans and we DO, as that is MUCH easier than going through the incredibly painful and slow work visa process.”
He continued, “HOWEVER, there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America. This is not about handing out opportunities from some magical hat. You don’t get it. This is blindingly obvious when looking at NBA teams, as the physical differences are so obvious to see. However, the MENTAL differences between humans are FAR bigger than the physical differences!!”
Musk added, “It comes down to this: do you want America to WIN or do you want America to LOSE. If you force the world’s best talent to play for the other side, America will LOSE. End of story.”
Your understanding of the situation is upside-down and backwards.
OF COURSE my companies and I would prefer to hire Americans and we DO, as that is MUCH easier than going through the incredibly painful and slow work visa process.
HOWEVER, there is a dire shortage of extremely…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 25, 2024
After facing backlash for his comment, Musk offered clarification in another post.
“Maybe this is a helpful clarification: I am referring to bringing in via legal immigration the top ~0.1% of engineering talent as being essential for America to keep winning,” Musk wrote.
“This is like bringing in the Jokic’s or Wemby’s of the world to help your whole team (which is mostly Americans!) win the NBA. Thinking of America as a pro sports team that has been winning for a long time and wants to keep winning is the right mental construct.”
Maybe this is a helpful clarification: I am referring to bringing in via legal immigration the top ~0.1% of engineering talent as being essential for America to keep winning.
This is like bringing in the Jokic’s or Wemby’s of the world to help your whole team (which is mostly… https://t.co/mtd0cgkNvE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2024
Musk’s remarks alone were controversial, but Vivek Ramaswamy took things a step further.
In a lengthy post, Ramaswamy argued that the U.S. culture has prioritized “mediocrity over excellence” for decades, suggesting that Americans’ lack of ambition is to blame for the talent gap.
Ramaswamy wrote:
“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH:
Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG.
A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.
A culture that venerates Cory from “Boy Meets World,” or Zach & Slater over Screech in “Saved by the Bell,” or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in “Family Matters,” will not produce the best engineers.
(Fact: I know *multiple* sets of immigrant parents in the 90s who actively limited how much their kids could watch those TV shows precisely because they promoted mediocrity…and their kids went on to become wildly successful STEM graduates).
More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of “Friends.” More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less “chillin.” More extracurriculars, less “hanging out at the mall.”
Most normal American parents look skeptically at “those kinds of parents.” More normal American kids view such “those kinds of kids” with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve.
Now close your eyes & visualize which families you knew in the 90s (or even now) who raise their kids according to one model versus the other. Be brutally honest.
“Normalcy” doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. And if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our asses handed to us by China.
This can be our Sputnik moment. We’ve awaken from slumber before & we can do it again. Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden era in America, but only if our culture fully wakes up. A culture that once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.
That’s the work we have cut out for us, rather than wallowing in victimhood & just wishing (or legislating) alternative hiring practices into existence. I’m confident we can do it.”
The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024
Ramaswamy’s post has sparked mixed reactions among conservatives, with some expressing outrage, particularly those who have long criticized H-1B visas as a means of importing cheap labor at the expense of American workers.
Below are some of the comments:
— Wall Street Mav (@WallStreetMav) December 26, 2024
Agree and disagree here.
Nothing wrong with being a jock or a prom queen. We don’t need to be a nation full of socially awkward nerds, either. It takes all kinds.
What we could use more of is: parenting, work ethic, tenacity, ambition.
We don’t just need more engineers or…
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) December 26, 2024
That version of America, the one that used to embody unbridled exceptionalism, is exactly what we want to return to. That’s a point about culture, not immigration policy.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 26, 2024
Our national security is directly linked to our capabilities in math and science. I highlighted this crucial connection in my thesis at the Naval Postgraduate School—10 YEARS AGO! We have a wealth of homegrown talent. It’s time to prioritize STEM education and innovation, elevate…
— Chief Steven Sund (@ChiefSund) December 26, 2024
In a separate post, Ramaswamy said, “I’ve long said the current H-1B system is badly broken & needs to be gutted. It shouldn’t use a lottery, it should be based on pure MERIT. It shouldn’t tether workers to just one corporation. Same principles I favor today.”
Yup, I’ve long said the current H-1B system is badly broken & needs to be gutted. It shouldn’t use a lottery, it should be based on pure MERIT. It shouldn’t tether workers to just one corporation. Same principles I favor today. https://t.co/tcMSxAaw6W
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 27, 2024
Critics argue that the program, intended to fill labor shortages in specialized fields, has been exploited by some employers to cut costs. Instances have been reported where American employees were laid off and replaced by H-1B workers.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, during the 2022 tech layoffs, companies laid off their U.S. workforce while continuing to bring in more H-1B workers. The top 30 H-1B employers in 2022 laid off at least 85,000 workers, while bringing in 34,000 H-1B workers.
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