White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified the administration’s stance on skilled immigration, saying that President Donald Trump holds “a very nuanced and commonsense opinion” on H-1B visas. She emphasized that the president does not back policies where American workers [are] being replaced, highlighting a more balanced tone on the contentious visa debate.
Addressing concerns over claims that H-1B visa holders are displacing U.S. workers, Leavitt said the president’s position has often been portrayed inaccurately. She noted that Trump’s approach has been “mischaracterized,” stressing that his policy focus is on protecting American jobs while still recognizing the value skilled immigrants bring to the economy.
Reflecting on the H-1B, Leavitt said Trump “has a very nuanced and commonsense opinion on this issue. He wants to see if foreign companies are investing trillions of dollars in the United States of America, and they’re bringing foreign workers with them to create very niche things like batteries, he wants to see that at the beginning to get those manufacturing facilities and those factories up and running.”
Leavitt underscored that the president’s priority is safeguarding domestic employment. “Ultimately, Mr. Trump always wants to see American workers in those jobs,” she said, adding that he has made his expectations clear to international investors. According to her, he has told foreign companies entering the U.S. market that they “better be hiring my people if you’re going to be doing business in the United States.” She noted, “So there’s been a lot of misunderstanding of the President’s position.”
Leavitt further noted that the president is determined to revive the nation’s manufacturing sector, aiming to make it stronger than it has ever been. “That’s part of what he’s doing with his effective use of tariffs and cutting good trade deals around the world. That’s why he’s recruited trillions and trillions of dollars in investments into our country. Those are creating good-paying American jobs right here at home,” she said.
Amid criticism from some within his MAGA (Make America Great Again) base over his stance on H-1B visas, President Trump has tried to strike a balance. Trump said he would “welcome” highly skilled immigrants to the United States, particularly those capable of helping Americans innovate, saying they could “teach” U.S. workers how to build advanced technologies such as chips and missiles. He acknowledged the political risk, noting he might take “a little heat” from supporters who favor stricter immigration limits.
Trump pointed out that the United States is now seeing the construction of numerous manufacturing facilities, including some “extremely complex” plants, which he believes will play a crucial role in boosting the nation’s economic growth. He argued that the advanced nature of the products being developed in these facilities means companies may initially need to bring in specialized talent from abroad. Those skilled workers, he said, would help transfer expertise and train American workers to take on these high-tech jobs.
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“But if you have to bring people to get those plants opened, we want you to do that, and we want those people to teach our people how to make computer chips and how to make other things,” Trump has said.
Trump elaborated on the challenges companies face when setting up high-tech facilities, particularly those investing billions in computer chip manufacturing. He noted that such operations require specialized expertise, saying businesses can’t simply “hire people off an unemployment line to run it.”
“They’re going to have to bring thousands of people with them, and I’m going to welcome those people,” Trump added.
Trump went on to argue that operating advanced facilities requires more than just enthusiasm. He said a company cannot build a large computer chip plant “with people that don’t even know what a chip looks like.” Defending the H-1B visa program, he maintained that the U.S. must sometimes tap into global expertise, noting that the country does not have “certain talents” domestically and therefore, needs to “bring in talent from around the world.”