The White House has clarified US President Donald Trump’s position on H-1B visas, stressing that the President “does NOT support American workers being replaced,” and instead favours what was described as a “nuanced, commonsense approach.”
According to the statement, the White House said That Donald Trump supports only limited use of H-1B visas and insists that employers prioritise hiring American workers first.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Donald Trump’s position on H-1B visas, stressing that the President “does NOT support American workers being replaced,” and instead favours what was described as a “nuanced, commonsense approach.”
“After those factories are up and running and workers are trained, these companies better be hiring American workers,” the Press Secretary said, underscoring the administration’s emphasis on domestic employment.
The clarification comes amid heightened political debate around high-skilled immigration, as industry groups push for predictability in H-1B processing while labour advocates call for tighter safeguards to prevent workforce displacement.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump has defended the H-1B visa programme, insisting that high-skilled foreign workers remain essential for America’s advanced industries despite criticism from some within his own political base.
Speaking at the US–Saudi Investment Forum, Trump emphasised that he “loves his conservative friends and MAGA” but argued that the realities of modern manufacturing demand specialised talent that cannot be instantly sourced domestically.
Pushing back against criticism from parts of the MAGA movement, Trump said some supporters “just don’t understand” the need for skilled immigration, even under an “America First” agenda.
Reinforcing his stance, Trump said:
“You can’t come in, open a massive computer chip factory for billions and billions of dollars like is being done in Arizona, and think you’re gonna hire people off an unemployment line to run it. They’re gonna have to bring thousands of people with them, and I’m gonna welcome those people. This is MAGA.” He repeated: “They just don’t understand.” Trump argued that foreign experts are often required to train American workers before eventually handing over operations.
“People have to be taught this is something they’ve never done. But we’re not going to be successful if we don’t allow people that invest billions of dollars in plants and equipment to bring a lot of their people from their country to get that plant open, operating, and working. I’m sorry.”
He also dismissed claims that US companies should rely solely on domestic talent:
“No, you don’t. You don’t have certain talents… You can’t take people off the unemployment line and expect them to operate advanced factories or make missiles.”
His remarks come amid increasing pressure from some Republican leaders urging him to dismantle the H-1B programme. Trump, however, doubled down on his long-stated position that foreign talent is indispensable for industries requiring expertise not immediately available within the American workforce.