Steve Bannon Pushes Back Against Vivek, Elon In Infighting Over H-1B Visas
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India-West News Desk
WASHINGTON, DC – MAGA figure Steve Bannon has reignited the debate over H-1B visas, sharply criticizing Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy for their support of the program, which he claims has harmed the American middle class.
In a December 30 segment on his show War Room, Bannon declared that H-1B visas were central to the “gutting” of the middle class, and he called for the program’s abolition. “We want it gone,” Bannon said, adding that American tech workers deserve “reparations” for what he called the “theft” of their lives by immigrants on H-1B visas.
This latest outburst is part of an ongoing clash between Bannon and the tech-savvy right-wing elite, with Musk—who has long supported the H-1B visa program—at the center of the storm. Musk, who used the H-1B visa to immigrate from South Africa, has faced criticism from fellow conservatives who are increasingly questioning the influx of high-skilled foreign labor.
He also took issue with Ramaswamy’s argument that American culture prioritizes athletes over academics, which he claimed contributed to the country’s reliance on foreign labor.
Bannon’s rhetoric underscores the growing division within the right-wing camp, as MAGA figures rally against Silicon Valley’s embrace of high-skilled immigration.
Bannon has been particularly vocal about the negative impact of the H-1B program, calling for the deportation of workers on these visas and advocating for “reparations” for American tech workers displaced by them. “We’re going to get H-1B visas out, root and stem, and all the workers you brought in,” Bannon said on War Room. “Just like we’re deporting 15 million here, we want them deported, out. And give those jobs to American citizens today… we demand they get reparations. You stole from them.”
The clash highlights the growing tension between traditional populist forces and the high-tech establishment within the broader MAGA movement.
Also Read: 70 Indians Sue US For Denying Them H-1B Visas: Report
Sam Patel
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Steve Bannon is an empty box!!!
He has no role in the new administration.
He is a previous fired employee
He can continue to make noise. If the US does not allow H1B employees, the companies will send their work offshore to their offices in other countries. The companies will benefit in lower fees and less regulatory headaches.
Will be interesting if the first American Company announces it is moving to India.
December 31, 2024Ven Parameswaran
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Steve Bannon is ignorant and ill informed about H-1B. He needs to be educated before he gets wild. H-1B was created by the USA to solve the problem of Y2K in year 2000. Because there was an acute shortage of Computer professionals we were forced to import them from foreign countries. Many came from India and helped the USA. Because our schools do not teach quality Math and Science we are unable to prepare Americans to study Science at college and graduate levels. Steve Bannon should know that there would not have been technology start-ups in Silicon Valley but for the foreign graduates who came here and acquired higher education in topnotch universities. Indian American CEO’s head 50 Fortune 500 corporations including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Adobe Systems. Fortune 500 corporations contribute 2/3rds of our GDP of $28 trillion. Out of this corporations managed by Indian Americans and Chinese Americans contribute 50 percent, or 10 trillion.
December 31, 2024President Trump has suggested that foreign students should be given Permanent Resident cards along with diplomas when they graduate enabling them to participate in the industry. We need laws to encourage immigration of foreign students with undergraduate degree. I think President Trump may scrap the H-1B visas and replace with Permanent Resident Visas.
Sammy
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The tides have turned. It’s not just the MAGA crowd, the general population in the US now perceives the H1B program as a scam. Everyone knows someone whose job was lost to a low-level Indian engineer being paid half their salary and bonded to the employer. Americans are furious about this, right and left, and it’s only a matter of time before the tech oligarchs are drowned out by the Trump base. In a year or less, it’s bye-bye H1B!
January 21, 2025Sammy
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In the past, India’s best and brightest engineers would use the H1B visa to go to the US, work and go on to establish huge tech firms. That is no longer the case. Show me one IIT graduate who even bothers with H1B? It’s now primarily a vehicle for body shops like TCS and Infosys to make money off low-level engineers from Tier 2 and 3 universities. While the body shops profit, the engineers end up making one third to a half of what an American engineer would. Their status is tied to the employer who can be as abusive as they like, because the engineers are bonded like slaves – if they leave the job they get ONE MONTH to get another one or be deported. In this environment it is impossible to find a job in one month.
January 21, 2025