桑德斯长期以来一直主张提高美国工人的工资，并缩小贫富差距。他批评了马斯克为H-1B 签证计划所做的辩护，Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont criticized the H-1B visa program on Thursday and took aim at Musk; he believes that the program's function is not to attract talent, but rather to hire low-wage workers, thus making the wealthiest individuals in the USA even richer.
According to the Financial Associated Press on January 3 (editor Bian Chun), Musk, a key figure around the elected President Trump, recently expressed support for the H-1B visa program. This program has caused a rift between two factions within Trump's camp. Currently, the debate surrounding the H-1B visa in the USA is intensifying.
Senator Bernie Sanders from Vermont criticized the program on Thursday and took aim at Musk.
Sanders has long advocated for raising wages for American workers and reducing the wealth gap. He criticized Musk's defense of the H-1B visa program, believing that the program's function is not to attract talent but to hire low-wage workers, which will make the wealthiest individuals in the USA even richer.
"Elon Musk is wrong," wrote this self-proclaimed "democratic socialist" independent in a statement released on Thursday. He promoted this statement on X.
"The main function of the H-1B visa program is not to hire 'the best and the brightest', but to replace high-paying American jobs with low-wage contract labor from abroad," Sanders wrote. "The cheaper the labor they hire, the more billionaires earn."
It is understood that the H-1B is a non-immigrant work visa category that allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers for specific professional jobs. Employers can submit green card applications for H-1B holders, thus often being seen as an important pathway to a green card.
The H-1B visa program is popular among technology companies, which use H-1B visas to help expand their workforce, often at a lower cost.
Recently, Musk stated on X that the USA needs to attract foreign talent to maintain Global competitiveness. He strongly supports the H-1B visa, saying it is crucial for building "SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that make the USA strong."
Musk and Trump currently seem to agree on the favorable factors of hiring workers with specific technological skills from countries like India, as they both believe there is a shortage of domestically skilled talent in the USA.
However, some traditional supporters of Trump, especially those from the working class, disagree with Musk's views, largely aligning with Sanders' position.
Sanders also used one of Musk's most well-known companies as an example to illustrate how reliance on such programs can negatively impact workers across the nation who are striving to keep their jobs.
"If the USA really lacks skilled tech workers, why did Tesla lay off more than 7,500 American workers last year—including many Software Development professionals and engineers at the Austin facility in Texas—while being allowed to hire thousands of H-1B foreign workers?" he stated.
"The bottom line is," he wrote. "It should never be cheaper for a company to hire a worker from overseas than to hire an American worker."
