트럼프 전 대통령의 H-1B 비자 정책은 복잡한 논란을 낳고 있습니다. 미국 우선주의와 상반되는 발언, 높은 수수료 부과, 그리고 인재 유치와 자국민 일자리 보호 사이의 균형 잡기 등 다양한 쟁점을 다룹니다. 이 제도는 미국 혁신과 경쟁력에 중요한 영향을 미칩니다.
Donald Trump’s H-1B visa headache
Read original at Newsweek →President Donald Trump is facing a tricky balancing act over H-1B visas, a key source of highly skilled foreign labor in the United States.Trump on Tuesday defended the use of H-1Bs, acknowledging the U.S. still needs international talent, even as his administration has imposed steep new fees that have sparked confusion among employers, legal challenges and set off a global arms race for skilled workers.
China has launched a new K-visa program as part of its effort to compete with the U.S. for global talent, while Canada has announced new plans aimed at attracting skilled foreign workers.Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that H-1B visas were needed because you "have to bring in talent". When Ingraham pushed back, saying the U.
S. has a pool of domestic talent, Trump replied: "No, you don't.""The number of foreign 'experts' who come here to train U.S. workers is small and they usually arrive on L-1 or B-1 visas, which can also be misused for cheap labor, like we saw with Hyundai and Infosys,” Kevin Lynn, executive director of the Institute for Sound Public Policy and founder of U.
S. Tech Workers, which has advocated for H-1B reforms, told Newsweek.He added: "The H-1B is mainly an outsourcing and American worker displacement visa used for white-collar jobs. Trump keeps missing this distinction, and it’s bad messaging on an issue that’s highly sensitive with his base and U.S. workers facing a weak job market in those sectors."
If this is what the administration is calling reform, we are zigzagging our way to it like a car swerving and fishtailing from one side of the road to the other.”White House officials clarified Trump’s comments, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying the president plans to temporarily bring in expert overseas workers to train U.
S. employees before returning home.White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Daily Wire on November 12 that the administration was committed to reforming the immigration system.“In record time, President Trump has done more than any president in modern history to tighten our immigration laws and put American workers first,” Rogers said.
“The $100,000 payment required to supplement new H-1B visa applications is a significant first step to stop abuses of the system and ensure American workers are no longer replaced by lower-paid foreign labor.”Trump’s comments sparked immediate criticism from parts of his political base, who have long pushed for stricter limits on immigration and H-1B visas in particular.
Many MAGA supporters see foreign workers as taking jobs from Americans and view any softening of policy as a betrayal of Trump’s “America First” promises.Savanah Hernandez, a MAGA influencer and contributor to conservative youth group Turning Point USA, called Trump's comments "disheartening" in a post on X.
"His H-1B comment shows how out of touch with the base he has become," she said."I would rather a hard-working American rather than a DEI hire any single day of the week to fill any position for any tech company," Jake Lang, a January 6 rioter who was pardoned by Trump and is now running for U.S. Senate in Florida, told Newsweek on October 20, before Trump made the remarks.
He added: "I would work with the Trump administration to start rolling back that policy that has been a contentious point for the American people, and I believe that we need to fill those positions with hard-working Americans and not import third-world people that do not assimilate to our country and end up coming and taking over and changing everything that we love about America."
“There is a misconception and misunderstanding that H-1B workers 'flood the market,' as Ms. Ingraham suggests," Amanda Brill at Brill Immigration told Newsweek.“I’m hopeful, based on the President’s admission in this interview, that we will begin to recognize how integral immigrants are to the economic growth.
It’s refreshing to hear something positive in this space from the President," Brill said.The political stakes are clear: MAGA supporters and hard-line Republicans favor strict limits on H-1B visas, viewing them as a threat to domestic employment. Trump faces pressure to ensure the U.S. remains competitive in sectors such as technology, finance and research, where global talent can fill specialized gaps.
John Deaton, a Republican candidate for Senate in Massachusetts, praised Trump for focusing on the need to compete for top talent."The goal of the H1-B system should be to fill critical gaps, not to undercut wages or opportunity for U.S. citizens. American workers and expanding opportunity here at home must always come first," Deaton told Newsweek.
"We need a smart, balanced approach to immigration - one that welcomes highly skilled talent that strengthens our economy, but never at the expense of American workers.The H-1B program limits new visas to 65,000 annually, with an extra 20,000 available for applicants who meet certain requirements. Supporters of the H-1B program argue that skilled migration contributes to U.
S. economic growth and innovation. Critics, however, contend that expanded use of H-1B visas can limit opportunities for American workers, particularly when companies are reducing domestic headcount. Microsoft faced scrutiny this year for increasing visa sponsorships while announcing layoffs.Despite ongoing political debates over potential reforms, demand for foreign expertise continues to be strong.
The program has expanded significantly over the past two decades. In 2024, approximately 400,000 H-1B visas were approved, more than double the number issued in 2000. The majority of approvals were renewals of existing visas rather than new hires. Many H-1B holders are employed by large technology companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and Google, which invest heavily in retaining foreign talent.
Tony Delgado, CEO & Founder of Latino Wall Street and a Trump supporter, told Newsweek: "If we want to keep winning in tech and innovation, we better stop pretending that the world’s smartest minds aren’t born all around the world. The future belongs to those who can code, innovate, and work hard."We want the best and the brightest minds from around the world who come to this country to chase the American dream.
Bringing in skilled workers isn’t the problem. The problem is America doesn’t train its own. That’s why we have to invest more money into education and technology here in the homeland. We need both: foreign talent and real investment in U.S. education. Otherwise, we’ll be the next empire to collapse under the weight of our own arrogance.
”Trump’s administration has already moved to slap a $100,000 fee for new petitions, which has created concern and confusion among employers. While exceptions exist, and renewals are generally unaffected, the policy has caused confusion among employers and drawn legal challenges from groups like the U.
S. Chamber of Commerce, which argue the fee is unlawful and could hurt U.S. competitiveness.The U.S. The Department of Labor has initiated at least 175 investigations into possible violations within the H-1B visa program, as part of the administration’s broader efforts to enforce compliance in the foreign worker visa system.
Trump now faces a challenging path. Softening restrictions risks angering parts of his base who see H-1B visas as a threat to American jobs. Enforcing stricter rules could harm U.S. competitiveness and drive skilled workers overseas. As the debate surrounding the H-1B program rages on, it has become one of the most contentious and high-stakes issues of the current administration.