Musk’s Immigration Fight With Trump Allies Engulfs Social Media

  • Clash over skilled worker visas illustrates rift within base
  • Some conservatives accuse X of censorship in H-1B fight

Elon Musk

Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
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A heated online debate over immigration policy exposed a growing rift between Donald Trump’s Silicon Valley supporters – including billionaire adviser Elon Musk – and his ardently anti-immigration base, previewing the difficult and sometimes-contradictory demands the president-elect is facing over his signature policy issue.

Social media platforms – including Musk’s X – were ablaze over the holiday week as technology executives who had backed Trump’s campaign voiced their desire to increase the number of high-skilled visas available to foreign workers, only to draw conservative criticism.