Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump on Wednesday strongly defended legal immigration, saying the United States will need to bring in “thousands of people” from abroad to help train American workers in advanced technology industries.
Speaking at the U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum in Washington, Trump said large-scale semiconductor and tech investments cannot operate without experienced foreign workers.
“You can’t come in, open up a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars like it’s being done in Arizona and think you’re going to hire people from often unemployment line to run it. They’re going to have to bring thousands of people with them. I am going to welcome those people,” Trump said.
He added that foreign specialists will “teach our people” how to make computer chips and other advanced products.
“You are coming here, and you find that we don’t have people who did that before. We are allowing you… If you have to bring people to get those plants open, we want you to do that. We want those people to teach our people — how to make computer chips and how to make other things,” he said.
Trump acknowledged that his stance could draw pushback from conservative supporters.
“I may take a little heat. I always take a little heat from my people… I love my conservative friends. I love MAGA. But this is MAGA, and those people are going to teach our people how to make computer chips,” he said.
His comments follow similar remarks earlier in the week, when he backed the H-1B visa program and said foreign workers are needed to help train Americans.
“If you are going to be making chips… we have to train our people how to make chips. We used to do it, and foolishly we lost that business to Taiwan,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
In a recent Fox News interview, Trump again supported the program. When host Laura Ingraham suggested the country already had enough talent, Trump replied, “No, you don’t.”
Trump’s comments have sparked sharp debate among Republicans, with several conservative lawmakers calling for the elimination of H-1B visas altogether. On Friday, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene reiterated on X her plan to introduce a bill banning H-1B visas in all sectors except medicine. Rep. Andy Ogles also posted, “No more H1-Bs is a no-brainer.”
The White House defended its visa policy on Friday, telling IANS that the administration’s new $100,000 application fee is intended to deter system abuse.
President Trump has “done more than any president in modern history to tighten our immigration laws and put American workers first,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said. She added that the fee is “a significant first step to stop abuses of the system and ensure American workers are no longer replaced by lower-paid foreign labor.”
The administration continues to face legal challenges over its H-1B policies, including lawsuits from business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
India-born workers continue to receive more than 70 percent of all approved H-1B visas, driven by a large skilled workforce and ongoing processing backlogs. (Source: IANS)
