Marjorie Taylor Greene sent thousands of foreign workers into a spit after announcing a plan to phase out the H-1B visa programme. This move deepens internal MAGA divisions over immigration and future of the American workforce.The Republican congresswoman said her goal is to “END the mass replacement of American workers” by shutting down the visa route that allows highly skilled professionals from foreign countries to work in the United States. Her intervention arrives at a time when US President Donald Trump is defending the need for specialised foreign talent, H1-B visas and green cards by saying that America does not have enough domestic talent and needs help from abroad to fill important jobs in sectors like technology and defence.
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This statement by the GOP leader has been seen as a betrayal by some MAGA hardliners, who argue that Trump has stepped back from his “America First” agenda. Greene said on X: “I am introducing a bill to END the mass replacement of American workers by aggressively phasing out the H1B program. Big Tech, AI giants, hospitals, and industries across the board have abused the H-1B system to cut out our own people. Americans are the most talented people in the world, and I have full faith in the American people. I serve Americans only, and I will ALWAYS put Americans first.”She added that her proposal “ELIMINATES the corrupt H-1B program and puts AMERICANS FIRST again in tech, healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, and every industry that keeps this country running!! If we want the next generation to have the American Dream, we must stop replacing them and start investing in them.”The H-1B visa is widely relied upon by American technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Amazon to fill roles in areas requiring advanced technical qualifications, according to Newsweek. Around 400,000 visas were approved in 2024, most of them renewals rather than first-time applications.Greene’s bill includes one temporary exemption. She says 10,000 visas per year could still be issued to medical professionals like doctors and nurses, but this would also be phased out over ten years.Her stance stands in contrast to Trump’s recent comments on Fox News, where he defended maintaining the programme. He argued that the United States does not currently have enough trained workers for certain roles in technology and defence. “No, you don’t. You don’t have certain talents,” he said, adding that “people have to learn!” He also said: “You can’t take people off an unemployment line and say ‘I’m gonna put you into a factory where we’re gonna make missiles.’ It doesn’t work that way.”In September, Trump introduced a $100,000 annual fee for new applicants and increased oversight of the system.
