• President-elect Donald Trump has expressed support for the H-1B visa program, causing opposition from his loyalists.
• Trump advocates for a merit-based immigration system, similar to Canada and Australia, and for foreign students to receive green cards upon graduation.
• The appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian immigrant, as Trump's AI adviser has sparked controversy among his supporters.
• The debate over the H-1B visa program continues, with critics arguing it displaces American workers, and supporters arguing it brings in much-needed talent.

President-elect Donald Trump recently expressed his support for the H-1B visa program, a move that has stirred up opposition from the right-wing fringe. The H-1B visa program allows qualified professionals to work in the United States. Trump's endorsement of the program has been met with resistance from his loyalists, particularly after the appointment of Sriram Krishnan, an Indian immigrant, as his artificial intelligence adviser.

Trump's support for the H-1B visa program was made clear during a phone interview with the New York Post. It's a great program, he said, adding, I've always liked the visas, I have always been in favour of the visas. That's why we have them. Trump also revealed that he has many H-1B visas on his properties and has used the program many times.

The President-elect has also expressed his support for reforming the immigration system to make it merit-based, similar to the systems in Canada and Australia. These systems give weight to academic and employable qualifications.

Trump's Vision for Immigration Reform

Trump has also stated his desire for foreign students graduating from US universities to receive green cards with their diplomas. He reiterated this during his campaign, stating, What I want to do, and what I will do, is -- you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country.

The issue of H1-B visas and the immigration of highly qualified persons has caused a rift among Trump's loyalists. Laura Loomer, a far-right Trump supporter, was one of the first to fire a salvo, expressing her disturbance at the appointment of Sriram Krishnan and accusing him of wanting to remove all restrictions on the number of green cards.

David Sacks, whom Trump has named the Crypto and AI Czar and would be Krishnan's boss, defended Krishnan, pointing out that he had only suggested removing the limits on green cards that can be given to individual countries while keeping the overall limits.

The H-1B Debate and Its Implications

Elon Musk, one of Trump's advisers, took a personal approach to the issue, stating that the reason he and many other critical people who built companies like SpaceX and Tesla are in America is because of the H-1B visa program. He warned that the US would lose without attracting the world's best talent, citing a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent as the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.

Vivek Ramaswamy, another of Trump's advisers, defended the programs for bringing talented immigrants to the US. He argued that US corporations looked elsewhere for talent because of a culture of mediocrity among Americans. He criticized the American culture for venerating mediocrity over excellence and pointed out that top tech companies often hire foreign-born and first-generation engineers over native Americans due to cultural reasons.

The debate over H1-B visas has been heated, with Musk even threatening a critic in an obscenity-laden post. He stated, Take a big step back and YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend. Indians are the biggest recipients of H-1B visas, receiving 72.3 per cent of them last year.