Trump Clarifies Position On Foreign Worker Visas After Debate

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Orpheum Theatre in Sioux City, Iowa, Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Donald Trump issued a statement on visas for highly-skilled foreign workers following the Thursday night Republican presidential debate in an attempt to clarify his comment that he was “softening” his position.

Trump said that he is still “totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse” in the statement released early Friday morning.

“I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions,” Trump added in the statement.

During the debate, Fox News moderator Megyn Kelly asked Trump if he still believes that giving more H-1B visas to skilled foreign workers would “decimate” workers in the United States.

“I’m changing,” Trump said in response. “We need highly skilled people in this country. If we can’t do it, we will get them in.”

The real estate mogul then said that he was “softening the position because we have to have talented people in this country.”

In his Friday morning statement, Trump said that the H-1B program is not for highly-skilled workers.

“Megyn Kelly asked about highly-skilled immigration. The H-1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay,” he said.

“I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements,” Trump continued, referring to reports that Disney World laid off American workers and then hired temporary immigrant workers.

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  1. "I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements," Trump continued, referring to reports that Disney World laid off American workers and then hired temporary immigrant workers.
    

    Well, he’s right about Disney. But the thought has occurred to me that 1), Trump might say just any old thing to get elected, and that 2), maybe, just maybe, he might not truly have the interests of American working men in women foremost on his mind.

    Perhaps I’m being overly cynical.

  2. or very observant…

  3. If Trump were asked questions by the PRESS about what, exactly, he would do to put his lame-brained thoughts into something approaching reality, then the country wouldn’t be wasting its time on this dope any longer. For example:

    Mr Trump:

    1. You say you have a great team of business people who are poised to take on the foreign trade ‘deals’ you insist must be re-negotiated. Who are these people? Are they all from the gaming and hotel industries? Do they have any experience negotiating international treaties?
    2. Your wall scam involves getting another nation to pay for what would become our property on our land. When in history has this ever occurred?
    3. As the noted philosopher steviedee has explained, if you had 8 years to deport 11 million people, you would have to do so at a rate exceeding 150 per hour, every day for 8 years. Have your top business people with great management skills laid out the numbers and logistics here so that we can consider this as anything other than another hallucination of yours?
    4. Everything about America is a disaster, according to you. The debt is currently over $19 trillion and you never miss a chance to bring that up. In light of the toll of the credit card war Bush left us with, and the effects of QE1, 2, and arguably 3, not to mention TARP, et al… exactly what expenditures from this administration are you referring to when you castigate it for racking up such a large debt?
    5. Following the last question, the Obama administration has steadily reduced the annual budget deficits over the last several years. Do you also blame Obama for that?

    Every press outlet in the country is cashing in on the Trump Effect. Ratings and advertising numbers are sky high. Is everyone in the press in the tank for Donald? Does the press even care beyond its own self-interests?

  4. it occurs to me that Mr Trump would help improve understanding of his positions and reduce confusion in the press and the population in general if he would disclose what calendar he keys his positions to.

    Are they changing abruptly in sync with the lunar calendar, the chinese calendar, the mayan calendar, or some other hitherto unknown distant alien calendar, because it’s pretty clear his changes in positions are not keyed to the Julian calendar.

    Edited to correct a typo, something I wish TPM and especially Mr Marshall would do more of.

  5. I was gonna say that a rock could see that, but he is gonna be the next R nominee, so there’s that.

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