Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chairs of President-elect Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency," are defending Silicon Valley's reliance on foreign-born engineers amid the incoming administration's planned immigration crackdowns, The Hill reported.
Silicon Valley's top executives are rallying to defend the tech industry's reliance on foreign-born engineers as the Trump administration signals tighter immigration policies.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, have voiced concerns about the availability of skilled U.S.-born engineers and emphasized the importance of global talent to sustain innovation.
In a Wednesday post on his platform X, Musk argued that the United States' pool of highly skilled and motivated engineers is insufficient to meet demand. "The number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low," Musk stated.
When challenged by a user who claimed Musk's hiring practices denied Americans opportunities, the tech mogul dismissed the accusation as unfounded.
"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 explained. "HOWEVER, there is a dire shortage of extremely talented and motivated engineers in America."
Ramaswamy echoed similar sentiments in a Thursday post, suggesting that cultural factors, rather than a lack of innate ability, contribute to the limited number of competitive U.S.-born engineering candidates.
"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)," Ramaswamy wrote. "A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture."
He elaborated that American society has long prioritized social achievements over academic excellence.
"Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer)," he noted. "A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math Olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers."
The debate reignited following comments by Sriram Krishnan, a prominent Indian American venture capitalist recently appointed by President-elect Donald Trump as senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who last month suggested removing the country's cap on H-1B visas for skilled immigrants. Krishnan had proposed easing restrictions to address the talent shortage.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer criticized Krishnan's appointment, accusing him of undermining the "America First" agenda by advocating for foreign talent.
"It's alarming to see the number of career leftists who are now being appointed to serve in Trump's administration when they share views that are in direct opposition to Trump's America First agenda," Loomer said Monday.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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