In a notable departure from his administration’s hardline immigration stance, President Donald Trump has publicly argued that the United States needs to bring in skilled workers from abroad to fill critical talent gaps, particularly in complex manufacturing sectors.
The comments, made during an interview with Fox News, highlight a growing tension between the president’s populist “America First” agenda and the demands of a corporate sector that relies on foreign expertise.
A clash over H-1B visas and domestic talent
During the interview, which aired Tuesday, host Laura Ingraham pressed the president on the H-1B visa program, suggesting that prioritizing foreign workers would undermine his goal of raising wages for American citizens.
When Ingraham asserted that the US already has “plenty of talented people here,” Trump responded with a simple “no.”
“You also do have to bring in talent,” Trump countered.
You don’t have certain talents. And you have to, people have to learn. 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.’
A contradiction with his own administration’s policies
Trump’s defense of skilled immigration stands in stark contrast to his own administration’s recent actions.
Earlier this year, his administration imposed a hefty $100,000 application fee on the H-1B visa, a program widely used by the tech industry and other major companies to attract foreign employees.
That policy has already drawn a lawsuit from the US Chamber of Commerce.
Furthermore, his second-term crackdown on undocumented migrants, which has included deploying troops to assist with deportations, has spurred widespread concern among businesses about the impact on the labor supply.
The Georgia raid and its diplomatic fallout
The president specifically cited a recent immigration raid on a Hyundai and LG electric battery plant in Georgia to illustrate his point.
The raid, which saw over 300 South Korean workers detained, sparked a diplomatic rift with Seoul and complicated efforts to attract foreign investment.
“In Georgia, they raided because they wanted illegal immigrants,” Trump said.
They had people from South Korea that make batteries all their lives. You know, making batteries are very complicated. It’s not an easy thing, and very dangerous.
He reiterated that you cannot simply take someone “off an unemployment line who haven’t worked in five years, and they’re going to start making missiles. It doesn’t work that way,” he added.
The incident prompted Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reassure South Korean officials that their investment was still welcome, and Trump himself has previously promised a “whole new plan” to ensure skilled workers could help establish new manufacturing plants in the US.
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