Trump says US lacks 'talented people' as he defends H-1B visas for foreign labor

WASHINGTON, DC: During an appearance on ‘The Ingraham Angle’ with host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday, November 11, President Donald Trump discussed the issue of work visas and the state of talent in the United States.

He emphasized the need for the country to attract foreign workers, asserting that America lacks sufficient skilled talent in certain sectors. Trump also joined Ingraham for a tour of his reconstruction of the White House’s East Wing.

Trump says US must bring in foreign workers to fill skilled labor gaps

Trump told Ingraham that “you also do have to bring in talent when a country,” and when Ingraham insisted, “we have plenty of talented people here,” he responded bluntly: “No, you don’t.”

He elaborated that "one cannot simply take someone off an unemployment line and assign them to a factory where precision and specialized skills are required," citing examples from the manufacturing of missiles and other complex industries.

During the discussion, Ingraham raised the issue of the H-1B visa, questioning whether it would remain a priority for the administration given Trump’s pledge to boost the manufacturing sector and raise wages for American workers. She argued, “I mean, the H-1B visa thing will not be a big priority for your administration, because if you want to raise wages for American workers, you can’t flood the country with tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of foreign workers.”

Trump acknowledged the importance of bringing in skilled foreign labor, arguing that the United States lacks certain specialized expertise domestically. Ingraham challenged him, asking, “How did we ever do it before?”

Trump offered a concrete example, explaining, "In Georgia, authorities had raided a facility because illegal immigrants were employed, but among the workforce there were people from South Korea that made batteries all their lives.”

He emphasized that manufacturing batteries is “very complicated” work involving explosion risk and danger, and that the existing workers had to train others to perform the job safely. 

Trump raises H-1B visa fees, intensifies deportations in second term

The Trump administration raised the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, a move aimed at protecting US workers from unfair wage competition by foreign labor. The decision prompted a lawsuit from the US Chamber of Commerce.

In his second term, President Trump has intensified the deportation of undocumented immigrants, deploying troops to major cities to assist immigration officers, a move that has raised concerns about potential labor shortages for businesses.

By law, the United States can issue up to 65,000 H-1B visas annually, with an additional 20,000 reserved for individuals holding a US master’s degree or higher.