Big tech bosses blast Trump’s visa move

Big tech chief executives including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai slammed President Trump’s move to suspend an immigrant visa program that they say helps them recruit talent from abroad.

Trump issued a proclamation Monday that temporarily halts several work-based immigration programs including H1-B visas, which allow American employers to hire immigrants with specialized skills. The announcement drew fire from Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla, who argue the program helps their companies and the US economy as a whole.

“Like Apple, this nation of immigrants has always found strength in our diversity, and hope in the enduring promise of the American Dream.

There is no new prosperity without both,” Apple chief Tim Cook said on Twitter Tuesday morning.

The Trump administration contends that suspending entries of immigrants with H-1B and other visas will help put unemployed Americans first in line for open jobs as the nation recovers from the coronavirus crisis. The halt will take effect Wednesday and last through the end of the year.

But tech firms use H-1B visas to recruit the skilled immigrant workers who can further innovation and support the economic recovery, according to the Information Technology Industry Council, a trade group.

Amazon called Trump’s decision “short-sighted,” while Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he was “disappointed” by the move. Musk called Trump’s order too broad.