Free Republic

Elon ADMITS Censoring Laura Loomer’s X Account Over Immigration Debate

A fierce debate has broken out between President-elect Donald J. Trump’s very recent tech industry supporters and his long-standing America First base. At the core of the disagreement is the subject of legal immigration—specifically, how Trump should handle so-called “high-skilled” foreign worker programs like the H1B visa.One of the staunchest proponents of expanding the labor pool in this way is billionaire Elon Musk. In a Christmas Day post on X, Musk exclaimed America needs more than double the 160,000 semiconductor industry engineers said to be required by 2032.“No, we need more like double that number yesterday! The number of people...

CNN contributor Scott Jennings said Friday on CNN’s “The Lead” that Republicans can comprise on immigration by going after fraud in the H-1B Visa program.Jennings said, “There’s always been a push and pull on this in the Republican Party and I think there’s a way to work this out and solve it. I mean, I think what a lot of people would say is, and Elon Musk was making this point, if you take, like, the top 1% or the top 0.1% of the most talented engineering people from other countries, that’s perfectly fine. Do H-1B Visas for that. They’re...

The majority of likely American voters says the United States does not need any more foreign H-1B visa workers to fill white-collar jobs, a new poll finds.A Rasmussen Reports survey reveals that 6-in-10 Americans say the U.S. “already has enough talented people to train and recruit” for white-collar jobs when asked whether Congress should increase the inflow of foreign workers, primarily those arriving through the H-1B visa program.Meanwhile, just 26 percent of Americans say Congress should increase the number of foreign visa workers taking white-collar jobs.Republicans and swing voters, in particular, say the U.S. has enough American talent for such...

The Trump Administration announced on January 12, 2021 that it has promulgated a new, final rule that will significantly increase the wages that must be paid to holders of H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, though the rule might not ultimately go into effect with the incoming Biden Administration. Last month, an interim version of the rule was invalidated on procedural grounds by three federal district courts. The rule, announced by the Department of Labor (DOL) and titled Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States, would increase the prevailing wages that...

Green card ban extended through Dec. 31President Donald Trump signed an executive order June 22 restricting foreign nationals from outside the U.S. from using certain temporary employment-based visas through the end of the year and extending a green card ban enacted in April through Dec. 31.The order freezes access to new H-1B visas used by professional and technology workers; H-4 visas awarded to the spouses of H-1B holders; H-2B visas used by seasonal workers in landscaping and hospitality; L-1 visas for executives and managers transferred within companies; and J-1 visas issued to interns, trainees or people on work-study summer programs.Visa...

On April 3, 2017, the Trump Administration Will Suspend for up to 6 Months All Expedited or Premium Processing of H-1B Petitions. This is the latest in a series of changes or attempted changes to immigration policies and procedures during President Trump’s first 100 days. This change impacts adversely the business community, particularly high-tech companies, whether U.S. or foreign-owned, that recruit global talent using the H-1B program. Here are the key FAQs:What is an H-1B?The H-1B is a visa for specialty occupations requiring at least a four year B.S. or B.A. degree or its equivalent, such as software engineers, scientists,...

In this election cycle, the issue of immigration is not just about what is happening at the border. The direction of the H-1B visa program is also on the line.The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations to work temporarily in the United States. This in-demand program is the primary pathway by which employers can recruit and hire foreign workers with expertise in specialized fields such as technology, engineering and healthcare — often filling crucial skills gaps.Since many immigration policy changes are made through the executive branch, the winner of the election will...

The H-1B visa program, created by former President George H.W. Bush, allows companies to import hundreds of thousands of foreign workers — primarily from India and China — to take white-collar American jobs under the guise that there is a “labor shortage,” particularly in STEM occupations.For years, Breitbart News has chronicled the abuses against white-collar American professionals as a result of the H-1B visa program. Americans are often laid off in the process and forced to train their foreign replacements, as highlighted by Breitbart News.Research, published in the September issue of the Journal of Business Ethics, reviewed wage data that...

Nicole Shanahan, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate in 2024, said on Thursday that the H1-B visa program delivers “massive breaks” for cheap labor for tech companies, and those with the visas are essentially “indentured servants” for big tech.The selection of Siriam Krishnan as a senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has sparked a widespread debate over the H1-B visa program, which conservatives have railed as “abusive” and designed to undercut wages of white-collar Americans.Vivek Ramaswamy further enflamed the controversy when he claimed that America “has venerated mediocrity over excellence.”Shanahan...

A multi-day firestorm has erupted over comments made by two incoming advisers to President-elect Donald Trump about H-1B temporary worker visas, a carve-out for high-skilled workers that some in MAGA world say are taking American jobs. The fight began brewing on X ahead of Christmas after Trump named venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan to a top AI policy post, triggering a racially charged backlash that surfaced Krishnan’s comments advocating for green cards for skilled workers.

Six months ago, I was asked my opinion of the Silicon Valley alignment with MAGA. I said at the time I thought it would last around 18 months and finally climax with a large fracture in the political movement around 2026. I had no idea at the time, the group of technocrats would begin publicly advocating for replacing American workers before Trump took office.For the past several days I have watched Vivek Ramaswamy, David Sacks, Elon Musk and his big tech influencers debating with their followers about the importance for them to continue expanding H-1b visas for foreign tech workers....

Vivek Ramaswamy broke the first rule of public relations. He said something that will probably alienate the public in what we can call his blood, sweat, and tears tweet. The billionaire entrepreneur had one simple message on X: We can't get ahead by taking it easy, no matter what Hollywood says.The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing...

Musk and Ramaswamy are swamp creatures who want to lay waste to the federal agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that are working with great care to protect Americans from greed, graft, and unfairness. Donald Trump’s so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) is a classic Orwellian institution. It isn’t a governmental department, nor is it designed to promote efficiency. A genuine executive department would require an act of Congress, including the ability to overcome the Senate filibuster. Its leadership would also require senatorial approval, and — as in some cases — assurances that it can operate in a bipartisan...

I wanted to read the full 1,500+ page bill & speak with key leaders before forming an opinion. Having done that, here's my view: it's full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO. Keeping the government open until March 14 will cost ~$380BN by itself, but the true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater due to new spending. Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief: $100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8BN. The...

One of President-elect Donald Trump’s most popular ideas is his new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Americans agree that waste in Washington is abundant: Polls show the average American thinks about 30 cents of every dollar spent by the federal government is wasted, redundant or counterproductive — and Trump is betting they’re right. The idea of saving up to $2 trillion to reduce our $36 trillion national debt and to rein in our near $2 trillion annual deficit has great and widespread appeal. In Musk and Ramaswamy, Trump has chosen two of...

📊 2028 National Republican Primary• Donald Trump Jr. — 30% • JD Vance — 30% • Ron DeSantis — 9% • Nikki Haley — 6% • Vivek Ramaswamy — 5% • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — 5% • Sarah Huckabee Sanders — 1% • Marco Rubio — 1% • Tucker Carlson — 1% • Greg Abbott — 1% • Brian Kemp — 1% • Glenn Youngkin — 1% --- • Someone else — 5%@MorningConsult | 12/6-8 | n=994

(CNN) Vivek Ramaswamy, the incoming co-chair of President-elect Donald Trump’s commission to cut government spending, has set his sights on money the Biden administration is dispersing in its final days in office, including a key loan to a rival company of his commission co-chair, Elon Musk. Last week, the Department of Energy announced a $6.6 billion conditional loan commitment to Rivian, the electric vehicle startup that is a nascent competitor to Tesla, Musk’s $1 trillion car company. Ramaswamy says that loan and others like it are “high on the list of items” that he will look to claw back once...

A member of Nancy Pelosi’s family, Alexis Pelosi, could lose her high-paying job at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after Elon Musk, who will be responsible for eliminating government waste under the incoming Trump administration, mocked her position on X. Alexis, who is married to the former speaker’s nephew, reportedly makes $181,648.00 annually as a climate advisor. After all, all great housing and urban development projects need a climate advisor! To complicate the family drama, Alexis’ father-in-law was once married to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s aunt. Musk, who will lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency...

Our nation was founded on the basic idea that the people we elect run the government. That isn’t how America functions today. Most legal edicts aren’t laws enacted by Congress but “rules and regulations” promulgated by unelected bureaucrats—tens of thousands of them each year. Most government enforcement decisions and discretionary expenditures aren’t made by the democratically elected president or even his political appointees but by millions of unelected, unappointed civil servants within government agencies who view themselves as immune from firing thanks to civil-service protections. This is antidemocratic and antithetical to the Founders’ vision. It imposes massive direct and indirect...