A majority of Americans do not want more guest workers coming to America on H-1B visas, a poll found, as President-elect Trump weighs in on a contentious debate on the legal immigration program.
A new poll from Rasmussen Reports found a widespread rejection of the core argument for H-1B labor, with 60% of likely voters saying there is enough talent in the domestic workforce to fill skilled positions. A mere 26% said Congress should increase the number of visas available for those jobs.
72% of Republicans, 63% of swing voters, and 47% percent of Democrats say there is enough talent at home to fill those jobs, Breitbart reported.
Each year, 65,000 new H-1Bs are allotted, with an additional 20,000 available for non-citizens who graduate from American universities with advanced degrees. At any given time, there are hundreds of thousands of H-1B workers in the U.S., mainly Indian nationals.
Critics of H-1B argue the program undercuts American workers by providing companies - particularly in the tech world - with access to cheap, foreign labor. Defenders of the visa say it is necessary to fill talent shortages in the U.S.
A fiery debate on the issue erupted over the Christmas holiday, with Trump ally and X owner Elon Musk declaring "war" on "contemptible fools" opposed to the visa program. Musk later appeared to soften his tone, as he suggested making it more expensive to hire foreign workers.
"Easily fixed by raising the minimum salary significantly and adding a yearly cost for maintaining the H1B, making it materially more expensive to hire from overseas than domestically,” he wrote.
Trump restricted H-1B visas towards the end of his first term, but curtailing legal immigration was not a major focus of his 2024 campaign, which was directed mainly at deporting millions of non-citizens living in America illegally.
While Trump is enjoying newfound popularity compared to his first term, the H-1B debate has placed him at odds with some of his supporters.
In an interview Saturday, Trump maintained that he has "always" been in favor of the H-1B visa.
"I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas,” Trump told the New York Post. “That’s why we have them.”
“I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B,” Trump continued. “I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”
