U.S. President Donald Trump has defended the need for skilled foreign workers, even as his administration continues to tighten restrictions on employment-based immigration programs such as the H-1B visa.
In an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Trump was pressed on whether his administration’s policies were undermining the H-1B system — long used by technology and manufacturing firms to recruit highly skilled professionals from overseas. Ingraham argued that limiting visas would boost wages for American workers, to which Trump countered that foreign expertise remains essential.
“You also do have to bring in talent,” Trump said. When Ingraham suggested the U.S. already had “plenty of talented people here,” Trump replied, “No. You don’t have certain talents. You can’t take people off, like an unemployment line, and say, ‘I’m going to put you into a factory. We’re going to make missiles.’”
The comments come months after the administration introduced a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, a move that has unsettled employers and triggered a lawsuit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The H-1B program, heavily utilized by tech companies, enables firms to hire foreign engineers, data scientists, and specialists — many from India.
A Wider Immigration Crackdown
The fee increase is part of the Trump administration’s broader hardline immigration agenda, marked by mass deportations and the use of federal troops to assist immigration enforcement in major cities. Business leaders have warned that such measures could worsen talent shortages and push innovation and hiring overseas.
Additionally, companies have become more hesitant to sponsor work visas for international students, curbing a long-standing pathway from U.S. universities to the nation’s workforce.
Tensions have also emerged with allies over immigration enforcement. In September, a federal raid on a Hyundai–LG Energy battery plant in Georgia led to the detention of over 300 South Korean workers accused of working illegally — prompting diplomatic protests from Seoul.
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