Who Is Right On The H-1B Visa Debate?
A few days ago, Elon Musk stirred up a heated debate over the H-1B visa program, which grants work visas that benefit many Indian tech workers. Musk has supported the use of these visas, arguing that for America to remain great, it must attract the “best and brightest” talent from around the world.
This stance has led to accusations that Musk is promoting mass legal immigration and enabling the replacement of American workers with cheaper labor from India. Some, like American businessman and Trump ally, Vivek Ramaswamy, have suggested that America cannot produce enough skilled workers on its own, and therefore, immigration is necessary to fill these high-skilled roles.
The discussion quickly divided into two camps: Musk’s supporters, who argue that meritocracy—a core American value—should disregard race and nationality, claiming that opposition to H-1B visas is rooted in racism; and those who argue that allowing Indian workers to replace Americans pushes a cultural divide.
This debate, however, has been clouded by racial overtones, obscuring the real issue—a dispute between those who advocate for mass immigration and those who fear the erosion of American jobs and culture. The reality is that H-1B visas primarily serve one purpose: to hire cheaper labor, allowing companies to replace workers earning $80,000 per year with those willing to accept $40,000. Additionally, these workers are highly manageable, as they can be sent back home if they lose their sponsorship.
Statistically, jobs filled by H-1B workers tend to be lower-paying despite similar skill levels, which benefits companies by reducing wage costs. The influx of both low-skilled workers, “the arms” (e.g., taxi drivers, food delivery workers, cleaners) and high-skilled workers, or “the brains,” serves the same purpose: social dumping.
In today’s globalized economy, production has moved to countries with lower labor costs, and mass migration acts as a strategy to cut costs when offshoring isn’t feasible. Whether it’s low-skilled or high-skilled labor, migrant workers are imported to increase profits for billionaires by driving down wages and social standards for local workers, whether they’re White, Black, Latino, or any other race in the U.S.
Focusing on race in the H-1B debate is a trap. Today, Indian workers accepting $40,000 replace American workers earning $80,000. But if Polish workers were to accept $20,000, Musk would likely praise Marie Curie to win the debate. This is not a new phenomenon—I recall how, in Spain, Moroccan workers initially replaced Spanish workers on tomato farms, but later, when Romanians came to Spain under EU laws and offered to work for lower wages, they displaced the Moroccans.
This same process is playing out in high-skilled jobs. While leftists argue that migrant labor is needed for low-skilled jobs because locals won’t do them, the reality is that locals won’t do those jobs at the offered wage. Similarly, when Musk and people like Ramaswamy claim that local workers aren’t the “best and brightest,” the truth is the same: locals won’t take those jobs for the offered pay.
In short, if you refuse low wages at Uber, you’re lazy; if you reject low wages at Tesla, you’re not the “best and brightest.” If you won’t submit to exploitation by your capitalist overlords, you’ll be replaced by someone from halfway around the world.
Trump’s election was based on a promise to enact protectionist policies, reduce mass immigration, and raise the standard of living for American workers, regardless of race. Yet, with Musk's endorsement of the H-1B visa, many feel betrayed by a president (via one of his close advisors) who vowed to challenge the globalist elite.
Similarly, just as the woke left demonized white working-class Americans raising concerns about mass migration by calling them racist, Nazis, and bigots, Musk and his supporters have dismissed concerns by those opposing H-1B visas by labeling them as “subtards,” racist, or woke right-wingers.
Billionaire elites can rely on useful allies from both the left (cultural liberalism) and the right (classical liberalism) to promote ideologies that prioritize individual freedom—individualism, atomization, and even egoism—over a common good view of the world demonized as fascist or Marxist. These ideologies reduce individuals to isolated entities, uprooted from cultural roots, spiritual ties, and shared values, which can be imported or exported according to market demands.
This is why critics of the H-1B visa have wrongly focused on ethnic and cultural concerns, rather than the more critical issue: the erosion of social standards for American workers due to mass migration, or social dumping.
A truly great America should be able to cultivate its own homegrown talent—of all races—without needing to rely on foreign imports.
If America can’t do that, then it’s not truly great.
Wrong Speak is a free-expression platform that allows varying viewpoints. All views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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Ok you've recognized the issue- to make larger margins, companies source their labor elsewhere, or attempt to import large numbers of foreign labor. Larger margins are their incentive, and more income is the reward. We all play a part in that chain. To make a difference, enough of us need to recognize the part we play (cheap goods produced overseas, companies that use high numbers of visas to import labor to make things cheaper), and stop providing them that incentive. We will be doing ourselves a favor because the easy cheap labor keeps other innovations for efficiency from happening. In other words, we are going to have to do our homework - what do we buy, and how do they do business? Avoid when possible companies that behave in ways we do not like and send the only signal they routinely recognize (their bottom line) that we as consumers now want something else.
Very good article, but race is still part of it. I am a white person and know that immigration does affect all races, but some more disproportionately. It also creates the situation these guys are talking about. They don't spend the resources the create the employees that they want or need. Cheap labor is disposable labor. This is a lengthy article, but gives a good history of how we got to this place and why we stay there.
https://www.numbersusa.com/blog/stop-taking-black-wealth/