Influence of Elon Musk Sparks Debate on High-Skilled Immigration

A Christmas Day social media brawl between President-elect Donald Trump’s backers in Silicon Valley and the MAGA base highlighted the looming battle facing the incoming White House and Congress over high-skilled immigration.

Early conversations are already taking place on Capitol Hill, where Republican lawmakers are openly mulling new plans to boost numbers of high-tech immigrants as Elon Musk and other tech billionaires — including many who have named skilled immigration a priority — flex their expanding influence on Trump and the GOP.

The Clash Over Immigration Advocacy

This week’s online blowup suggests immigration hard-liners won’t surrender easily to Trump’s new tech friends. The president-elect’s Sunday naming of Sriram Krishnan, a former partner at venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz, to serve as his artificial intelligence adviser caused panic among Trump’s base, with many fretting over his recent advocacy for removing country caps on green cards for high-skilled workers. Laura Loomer, a far-right immigration restrictionist close to Trump, called Krishnan’s appointment “deeply disturbing” and said tech leaders are cozying up to Trump to “enrich themselves” and get Pentagon contracts.

Musk and David Sacks, another venture capitalist tapped to serve as Trump’s AI and crypto “czar,” fiercely defended Krishnan and his ideas from Loomer and other MAGA critics.

“There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” Musk posted on X on Christmas Day, calling it “the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Musk later claimed that “America will LOSE” without more high-skilled immigrants.

Renewed Push for High-Tech Immigration

The debate over high-tech immigration is not new — Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly tried to pass laws making it easier for foreign experts to work in the U.S., most recently in 2022. But anti-immigrant sentiment and concerns about weakening a comprehensive immigration package with a high-skilled carve-out always sunk their plans.

Now the long-stymied effort is getting new life from Musk, Sacks, Krishnan and other tech leaders advising Trump as he prepares to take office. The tech lobby sees an opening and is pressing its advantage. And GOP lawmakers — even some immigration hawks — interviewed on Capitol Hill say Congress should consider letting foreign-born students who earn advanced STEM degrees stay in the country after graduation.

“Every Ph.D. in a STEM field that is awarded by an American university should come with a green card,” said Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.), co-chair of the House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, in a recent interview. He added that the issue “is something that Congress should look at.”

Political Dynamics and Tech Influence

The online fight reflects a key point of tension in today’s Republican Party, though some of its most fierce immigration opponents appeared to stay out of the holiday week fracas. Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, worked during Trump’s first term to slash the number of green cards and skilled visas issued or extended. Dan Stein, president of the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform, has told POLITICO that tech lobbyists expecting to get what they want on foreign visas “are in for a big surprise.”

But Trump appears open to high-skilled immigration increases. In June, he told venture capitalists he’d support giving green cards to foreign graduates of U.S. universities.

Prospects for Policy Change

Several elected Republicans agreed that the U.S. needs more foreign tech experts to stay competitive. And others sounded less skeptical about high-skilled immigrants, now that Musk — who was born in South Africa — and other right-leaning tech tycoons have weighed in.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters in mid-December that he’s likely to talk with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the committee’s top Democrat, about ways to increase the number of “engineers and the professional-type people that are trying to get into the United States.”

“We’ve talked about expanding that number,” said Grassley, who has blocked previous efforts to boost the number of foreign STEM experts, though he also said he still sees things that are “wrong with it.”

Role of Elon Musk in the Debate

Musk’s influence could prove key to swaying Grassley and other GOP fence-sitters. The tech billionaire’s constellation of companies rely on foreign-born talent, and his lightning takedown of a bipartisan government funding bill suggests he is already adept at getting what he wants out of Republicans in Congress.

Tech companies have long pressed Washington to expand access to high-skilled H-1B visas and green cards. Their lobbyists now see new opportunities to advance the issue by leveraging the sway of tech billionaires over the GOP. John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association, told POLITICO that Musk and other Silicon Valley leaders could create “an opportunity to reset the debate in a way that may be fruitful in terms of high-skilled immigration.”

Challenges and Future Outlook

Still, success is not guaranteed. Trump’s election was powered in large part by anti-immigrant sentiment, and advocates of more foreign-born experts acknowledge they must pull off a tough balancing act.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), a member of the Senate’s four-person AI working group and a longtime proponent of high-skilled immigrants, said Congress can do two things at once: crack down on illegal immigration while also clearing new pathways for foreign STEM professionals.

Young waved off questions about the powerful anti-immigrant current in his party, instead noting that Musk himself is an immigrant.

“America has benefited from Elon Musk and his amazing contributions to our economy,” Young told POLITICO. “He’s the object lesson on how high-skilled immigration can benefit our country, if done right.”

Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), a longtime proponent of increases to high-skilled immigration, said he’s been “waiting for the stars to align” — and that Silicon Valley’s rising influence on the GOP may be what’s needed to break the logjam and defeat the restrictionists.

“The money is on the side of the big tech firms and the tech entrepreneurs,” Foster told POLITICO. “To the extent that the [Trump] administration dances to that tune, the answer is clear.”

Conclusion: Balancing Act Ahead

Durbin shared some of that optimism but also sounded a note of doubt, saying in an interview that “there are some political forces in the MAGA world who don’t want a single new immigrant doing anything, period.”

It’s not clear which side will prevail. Many of Trump’s most ardent backers claim high-skilled immigrants depress wages and take jobs from native-born Americans. And while Trump recently expressed support for letting STEM students stay stateside, he said similar things in his first term even as his administration made things harder for skilled foreign workers.

The tension is likely to at least slow any high-tech immigration fixes on Capitol Hill. While Republican lawmakers on key committees now express some openness to reform, they’re wary of moving too fast and getting crosswise with a GOP base eager for a border crackdown.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over immigration policy, said winning the AI race “includes Americans who went to school and got the same degree” as STEM immigrants. But Jordan, a longtime admirer of Musk, said he’s happy to work with the tech billionaire on the issue — after the border is locked down.

“President Trump and Mr. Musk, if they’re open to other things, we’ll look at those,” Jordan told reporters. “But we got to secure the border first. That’s where the country’s at. The sequence matters a lot.”

Young agreed with Jordan’s sequencing. But the senator told POLITICO it may take only “a matter of weeks” for Congress to “put in motion a lot of the border security promises that have been made.”

One sign of change could be Grassley. In 2022, he helped block a bipartisan deal in the CHIPS and Science Act that would have lifted green card caps for foreign nationals. At the time, he said a carveout would weaken a comprehensive package. But the incoming Judiciary chair recently admitted “it’s difficult to get a comprehensive immigration bill” — before adding he’s in no hurry to fix things solely for high-skilled workers.

“Why don’t you ask me that in a month?” he said to POLITICO in late December.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, the top Democrat on the House Science Committee and one of two members representing Silicon Valley, was a key driver of the 2022 deal killed by Grassley — an experience that has made her cynical about future efforts, even with Musk in her corner.

“Whenever you try to do anything on immigration, right-wing, anti-immigrant forces take out radio ads and trash Republicans with them back home,” Lofgren told POLITICO.

Final Thoughts

“I believe that Jay Obernolte is sincerely expressing his views. I don’t question that,” Lofgren said. “I just — having seen this show before, I’m skeptical.”

Christine Mui contributed to this report.