Washington, D.C. – November 12, 2025 – President Donald Trump has reignited tensions within his political coalition by defending the H-1B visa program for skilled foreign workers. In a recent television interview, he asserted that the United States lacks the specialized expertise needed for advanced industries such as battery manufacturing and missile production.
During his appearance on The Ingraham Angle, Trump faced pointed questions about whether his administration would scale back H-1B visas amid concerns that the program suppresses wages for American workers. He acknowledged those concerns but maintained that certain skills must be sourced from abroad, saying, “Well, I agree — but you also do have to bring in talent.”
When host Laura Ingraham countered that the U.S. already has enough talented people, Trump replied, “No, you don’t … you don’t have certain talents, and people have to learn. You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory where we’re going to make missiles.’”
To support his argument, Trump pointed to a recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at an electric vehicle battery plant in Bryan County, Georgia, operated by Hyundai. The operation led to the arrest and deportation of hundreds of South Korean contractors for immigration violations. Trump described the workers as highly experienced, noting that battery production is “very complicated and very dangerous,” involving “a lot of explosions, a lot of problems.” He added that the foreign specialists were essential for training American workers, saying, “You’re going to need that, Laura.”
The remarks come two months after Trump signed an executive order imposing a $100,000 application fee for new H-1B visas—a measure aimed at curbing what his administration described as abuse of the program by foreign governments and corporations. Despite the fee increase, his defense of the program signals a nuanced approach: limiting exploitation while recognizing its importance for addressing domestic skill shortages.
The H-1B visa allows skilled workers to stay in the United States for up to six years and is widely used by technology companies to hire specialists in fields such as software engineering and artificial intelligence.
Trump’s comments have triggered backlash from his “America First” supporters, who view the H-1B program as a betrayal of his campaign promises to prioritize U.S. workers. Many criticized him on social media, calling the remarks “disheartening” and accusing him of abandoning the working-class base that helped elect him.
However, business and technology leaders have praised Trump’s acknowledgment of skill shortages. Industry figures see his position as a necessary recognition of the global competition for talent. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla’s Elon Musk have both emphasized the importance of maintaining legal immigration pathways to attract top international expertise and strengthen American innovation.
This divide underscores ongoing tensions within Trump’s coalition—between populists who favor strict immigration limits and business leaders who advocate for open channels of skilled migration to maintain the nation’s competitiveness. As his second term continues, the H-1B debate highlights the difficulty of balancing economic growth with nationalist priorities. The White House has not yet commented on whether additional policy changes are planned.
