Trump justifies H-1B visas after slapping $100K fee: ‘US doesn’t have certain talents, we have to bring in people’

US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump, in a recent interaction, said the country needed skilled workers, even as his administration has tightened visa rules that make it harder for organisations seeking such workers.

In an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham aired Tuesday, Trump was asked whether H-1B visas would remain a priority, with Ingraham arguing that the program could conflict with his push to raise domestic wages.

“You also do have to bring in talent,” Trump said.

When Ingraham said the US already had “plenty of talented people here,” Trump responded saying “no, you don’t.”

“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,’” he said.

Trump’s remarks acknowledging the need for some skilled foreign workers come months after his administration imposed a $100,000 application fee on the H-1B visa -- a program heavily relied upon by major US firms, particularly in the tech sector, to hire overseas talent.

In his second term, Trump has also intensified deportations of undocumented migrants, deploying troops to assist immigration officers in major cities, fueling concerns about potential labour shortages for businesses.

The immigration crackdown has roiled ties between Washington and allies, including South Korea, and complicated efforts by Trump to convince foreign companies to invest more in the US.

A September raid on a Hyundai Motor Co. and LG Energy Solution Ltd. electric battery plant in Georgia saw more than 300 South Korean workers detained amid allegations they were in the US illegally, sparking a rift with Seoul.

“In Georgia, they raided because they wanted illegal immigrants,” Trump said, citing that incident in the Fox News interview. “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. A lot of explosions, lot of problems.”

“You can’t just say a country is coming in, going to invest $10 billion to build a plant and going to take people 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.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)