New York, Dec 29 (NationPress) President-elect Donald Trump has stated that he is a "believer in H-1B" visas, effectively dismissing the resistance to the initiative that facilitates qualified professionals to work in the United States. This controversy has created a rift between the right-wing fringe and his advisors, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

He remarked, "It's a great program," in a phone interview with the New York Post on Saturday.

Trump further added, "I've always liked the visas, I have always been in favour of the visas. That's why we have them."

He mentioned, "I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times," as he communicated with the newspaper, which is part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

The president has advocated for reforming the immigration system to adopt a merit-based approach, similar to Canada and Australia's points systems that prioritize academic and job qualifications.

He has expressed a desire for foreign students graduating from U.S. institutions to receive green cards alongside their diplomas.

During his campaign this year, he reiterated, "What I want to do, and what I will do, is -- you graduate from a college, I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country."

Disagreements concerning H-1B visas and the immigration of highly skilled individuals escalated among Trump's supporters after he appointed Sriram Krishnan, an Indian immigrant, as his artificial intelligence advisor.

One of the first criticisms came from Laura Loomer, a far-right supporter within Trump's base known as MAGA, which stands for "Make America Great Again."

She expressed her concerns on Musk's X platform, stating, "Deeply disturbing to see the appointment of Sriram Krishnan" and accused him of seeking to eliminate all green card restrictions.

David Sacks, who Trump designated as the Crypto and AI Czar, pointed out on X that he only suggested removing the limits on green cards for specific countries while maintaining overall caps to address significant backlogs.

Amid personal attacks and false claims against Krishnan, Sacks defended him on X, stating, "the lies just shifted, including to some nasty attacks" on his character.

Musk took a personal stance, posting on X, "The reason I'm in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H-1B."

He cautioned that the U.S. would "LOSE" without drawing the world's top talent.

He pointed out, "There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent. It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley," and challenged critics by asking if they wanted the U.S. to win or lose.

In defense of programs supporting talented immigrants, Ramaswamy stated that U.S. corporations often look abroad for talent due to a culture that favors mediocrity over excellence.

He commented, "Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer)," and explained that the preference for hiring foreign-born engineers over native Americans is not due to a supposed American IQ deficit, but rather a cultural issue.

As tensions rose with increasing criticisms of H-1B visa holders and merit-based green card applicants, Musk issued a blunt warning to a critic: "Take a big step back and YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend."

Indians are the primary recipients of H-1B visas, obtaining 72.3 percent of them last year.

While the MAGA-right has made headlines with their opposition to Indian immigrants on H-1B visas, similar sentiments have also been voiced from the left in the Democratic Party, arguing that these immigrants suppress wages for U.S. citizens and take their jobs.