This article originally appeared in Newsweek Magazine on January 2, 2025.
While claims of a “civil war” within MAGA ranks may be exaggerated, a holiday exchange on X underscored a growing fault line in the Republican Party between the working-class voters who propelled President-elect Donald Trump back into power and the billionaire elites he’s tapping to shape his administration. These tensions between culture war grievances and economic pragmatism will continue to dominate online debates, but they also present a rare opportunity for Trump’s administration to lead on groundbreaking immigration reform, particularly in new programs designed to attract the world’s top talent.
The far-right erupted in outrage just days before Christmas when Trump appointed Indian-American tech executive Sriram Krishnan to lead A.I. policy at the White House. The anti-immigrant wing of the movement unleashed a torrent of social media attacks, accusing Krishnan of being an Indian loyalist intent on flooding the tech industry with foreign workers. The backlash took an even darker turn when Krishnan’s personal information was exposed through Federal Election Commission records—an act eventually claimed to be accidental but widely seen as an intimidation tactic.
Vivek Ramaswamy fired back against the far-right X, declaring, “Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long […].” His argument found a powerful ally in Elon Musk, who defended the H-1B visa program as instrumental to his own success and the rise of America’s most innovative companies. Musk, whose X profile prominently features a pledge to uphold meritocracy, framed the debate as a battle to preserve the freedom and opportunity that define the American dream—challenging the nativist right’s backlash against all forms of immigration.
Criticism of the H-1B visa—a non-immigrant visa program that allows U.S. companies to hire skilled foreign workers—cuts across party lines. Within the MAGA movement, many struggle to reconcile the tension between Trump’s campaign promises to curb illegal immigration and protect American workers and the economic reality that America needs immigrants to supplement our workforce. On the left, Democrats worry that prioritizing “high-skilled” visas could erode the family-based immigration system that has long been a cornerstone of America’s identity.
Refusing to shift to a more skills-focused immigration system that prioritizes expertise and workforce needs will weaken America’s economy as our peers and competitors attract talented workers instead. Countries like Canada have long matched global talent to domestic labor shortages through targeted programs, while the U.K.’s points-based system evaluates applicants based on job offers, English language proficiency, and salary thresholds. Meanwhile, Australia’s immigration model is explicitly designed to fill local gaps in critical industries.