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Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has added to the already bubbling cauldron of the H-1B visa debate by accusing Elon Musk of supporting the visa programme solely because it provides cheaper labour, rather than more skilled workers.
He added, "cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make".
Sanders argued, "The main function of the H-1B visa programme is not to hire 'the best and the brightest,' but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad."
Elon Musk is wrong.
The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire “the best and the brightest,” but rather to replace good-paying American jobs with low-wage indentured servants from abroad.
The cheaper the labor they hire, the more money the billionaires make. pic.twitter.com/Mwz7i9TcSM
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 2, 2025
Musk has countered that foreign labor tends to be more highly skilled, but Sanders challenged this claim by pointing out that Tesla laid off over 7,500 American workers while hiring thousands of H-1B guest workers. Sanders questioned the nature of these jobs, highlighting that Tesla employed H-1B workers as associate accountants, mechanical engineers, and material planners for relatively low wages.
Since the past weeks, there has been a deep fissure in the MAGA club regarding the H-1B visa programme, with far-right political activist Laura Loomer and Trump's one-time White House strategist Steve Bannon, criticising the programme about not prioritising American workers. Banon even went so far as to say, "Don't come up and go to the pulpit in your first week here and start lecturing people about the way things are going to be. If you're going to do that, we're going to rip your face off."
However, in a recent post, Musk defended the H-1B visa programme on social media, "The reason I'm in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B."
"I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend", he added.
The reason I'm in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.
Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 28, 2024
Sanders emphasised that the U.S. needs a highly skilled and well-educated workforce, but this should be achieved by hiring qualified American workers and investing in education, rather than relying on cheap labour from abroad. He stressed, "Bottom line. It should never be cheaper for a corporation to hire a guest worker from overseas than an American worker."
The H-1B visa programme allows employers to hire foreign nationals in specialty occupations, such as technology, engineering, and finance. However, critics argue that the programme is often exploited to hire cheaper foreign labour, rather than hiring American workers.
The debate has exposed deep divisions among President-elect Donald Trump's allies, with some supporting the H-1B visa programme as essential for the tech industry, while others see it as a threat to American jobs. Trump himself has expressed support for the programme, despite previously signing an executive order to restrict access to such visas.