Tesla founder Elon Musk is a vocal proponent of H-1B visas, and his company's use of the program jumped sharply this year.

I’ve witnessed the transformative power of legal immigration, which fuels economic growth and sustains global leadership.

Created in 1990 and intended for skilled foreign workers, the visa had until recently remained little known outside Silicon Valley, where technology companies use it to employ tens of thousands.

Republican leader Vivek Ramaswamy stepped down as the co-leader of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) just 69 days after being appointed. The move comes after mounting pressure from key Republican figures and Elon Musk himself,

President-elect Donald Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon said Elon Musk is a "truly evil guy" and vowed to "take this guy down."

The row over so-called H-1B visas is pitting Silicon Valley-aligned Trump allies like X CEO Elon Musk, who favor the program, against opponents like former White House strategist Steve Bannon, many of whom want curbs on overall immigration levels - legal and illegal - with Trump's return to office.

Instead, this issue is pitting self-described populist anti-immigration MAGA hard-liners like Steve Bannon against Trump advisers such as Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and Sriram Krishnan - all successful businesspeople, and all strong supporters of skilled immigration and a country open to talent.

The onerous new immigration bill would empower state attorneys general to force wholesale visa denials. It turns out Bannon can use this to his advantage in the MAGA civil war over immigration.

Tesla laid off roughly 6,600 workers. According to labor statistics, it filed about 1,300 H-1B visa applications around the same time.

The cracks between the tech broligarchs who are now flocking around Trump and the populist MAGA movement that launched him began to reveal themselves in late December when the provocateur Laura Loomer started attacking the H-1B visa, which facilitates the staffing of a significant portion of the tech industry.

The MAGA coalition continues to bicker over the merits of the H-1B visa. Inc. 5000 leaders are mixed on whether these visas are helpful – or even feasible – for their businesses.