(L-Center) Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) / (R-Top) Elon Musk speaks at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on May 6, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images) / (R-Bottom) MAGA activist Laura Loomer speaks to the media on April 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
OAN Staff Brooke Mallory 12:51 PM – Friday, December 27, 2024
As the incoming Trump administration prepares to crack down on illegal immigration, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-leaders of President-elect Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), are defending the tech industry’s reliance on skilled foreign workers.
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Both Musk and Ramaswamy asserted that there is a scarcity of skilled engineers in the United States.
“The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” Musk claimed in a Wednesday post on his social platform X.
In response to a social media user who asserted that the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla would be denying Americans chances, especially given the admin’s “America First” objective, Musk claimed that the user’s perspective was “upside-down and backwards.”
“OF COURSE my companies and I would prefer to hire Americans and we DO, as that is MUCH easier than going through the incredibly painful and slow work visa process,” Musk said. “HOWEVER, there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America.”
On Thursday, Ramaswamy made a similar argument, claiming that there aren’t enough qualified engineering recruits from the U.S., and that this is a “cultural” problem. He blamed elements such as American entertainment, which he suggested emphasizes that if a young person wishes to be popular, well-liked, and successful, they must either excel in athletics, be attractive, or be sociable, traits that don’t typically correlate to the engineering world.
“Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers. A culture that venerates Cory from “Boy Meets World,” or Zach & Slater over Screech in “Saved by the Bell,” or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in “Family Matters,” will not produce the best engineers,” Ramaswamy posted on X.
“The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation),” he continued. “A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture.”
Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and podcaster, had recommended last month that Musk look into lifting restrictions on skilled immigrant green card issuance, sparking the controversy. Following his appointment by Trump as senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence (AI), Krishnan’s remarks have been brought up again in recent days.
Meanwhile, conservative activist and Trump loyalist Laura Loomer blasted Krishnan’s appointment on Monday, arguing that he desires to lift restrictions on green cards so that international students “can come to the U.S. and take jobs that should be given to American STEM students.”
“It’s alarming to see the number of career leftists who are now being appointed to serve in Trump’s admin when they share views that are in direct opposition to Trump’s America First agenda,” she added.
“Democrat Congressman [Ro Khanna] confirms my reporting that incoming Trump AI advisor @sriramk is one of his donors. Surprise surprise! An anti-Trump Democrat Congressman is backed by an opportunistic Indian tech bro.”
Don’t you know that the people who took 8 years to figure out President Trump isn’t the bad guy and not a Nazi are the “best and brightest” our country has to offer?
🚨#BREAKING: Laura Loomer, a well-known X creator and reporter, has lost her verified check badge and subscriptions after questioning Elon Musk’s support for H1B visas, the replacement of American tech workers by Indian immigrants, and his relationship with China pic.twitter.com/jk7m2EPAMk
Nevertheless, tech CEOs still swiftly defended Krishnan. The Andreessen Horowitz partner was pushing for the elimination of per-country green card caps, according to David Sacks, Trump’s nominee for White House AI and crypto czar.
“Sriram still supports skills-based criteria for receiving a green card, not making the program unlimited,” Sacks wrote on X. “In fact, he wants to make the program entirely merit-based. Supporting a limited number of highly skilled immigrants is still a prevalent view on the right. Sriram is definitely not a ‘career leftist’!”
Additionally, Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale made the case that Krishnan is undeniably “America First” as well.
“For USA to have the highest standard of living, generous govt services, and strongest military, we need to recruit the best and brightest and build the best companies,” Lonsdale said. “I’m against more low-end H1B immigrants; but let’s win at the talent game.”
As Trump gets ready to enact an illegal immigration policy that promises large deportations of illegal aliens, the hiring procedures in Silicon Valley are being discussed. Both Ramaswamy and Musk have expressed support for Trump’s immigration policies.
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