White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that President Donald Trump has a “very nuanced and commonsense opinion” about H-1B visas. She clarified that he does not support foreign workers replacing American employees. Earlier this year, Trump imposed a hefty $100K fee on H-1B visa employers, restricting them from mass hiring foreigners for jobs under his ‘America First’ approach.
“The President does not support American workers being replaced,” Leavitt told reporters during a briefing at the White House. She added that Trump’s position on H-1B visas has often been misunderstood or misrepresented.
H-1B row: Trump doesn’t want American jobs replaced
Leavitt, during a White House press briefing, explained that Trump is open to foreign companies investing in the US, especially in projects that require highly specialised skills, like making batteries. However, she added that the goal is to get American workers trained and employed in these roles. Trump “has a very nuanced and commonsense opinion on this issue. He wants to see if foreign companies are investing trillions of dollars in the United States of America, and they’re bringing foreign workers with them to create very niche things like batteries. He wants to see that at the beginning to get those manufacturing facilities and those factories up and running,” Leavitt said.
She added that Trump has made it clear to foreign investors: “You better be hiring my people if you’re going to be doing business in the United States.”
Leavitt claimed that Trump’s goal is to revive American manufacturing. She said his use of tariffs and trade deals has helped attract trillions of dollars in investments, which are creating good-paying American jobs. “That’s part of what he’s doing with his effective use of tariffs and cutting good trade deals around the world. That’s why he’s recruited trillions and trillions of dollars in investments into our country. Those are creating good-paying American jobs right here at home,” she said.
Karoline Leavitt clarifies Trump’s stance on H-1B
A few days ago, during a Fox News interview, Trump spoke in support of welcoming skilled laborers, saying they are important for the country and raising hopes among millions that he might ease his strict measures. His words sparked outrage among the MAGA circle, who suspected the president had a change of heart.
Trump said he welcomes talented immigrants who can help build complex products, such as computer chips and missiles, and train American workers. He pointed out that many “extremely complex” factories are being built in the US, and companies need experts from abroad to teach Americans how to operate them.
Trump explained that companies building massive chip factories cannot hire people off the unemployment line. “They’re going to have to bring thousands of people with them, and I’m going to welcome those people,” he said. He added that no major chip plant can run with workers “that don’t even know what a chip looks like.” Defending the H-1B program, Trump said the US needs to bring talent from abroad because the country lacks certain specialised skills.
For the unversed, visas such as H-1B and L1 allow US companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers for specialised jobs.