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As Sundar Pichai lauds immigrants, Trump says will take ‘little heat’ to welcome skilled ones
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will “welcome” to the US skilled immigrants who will “teach” American workers developing complex products.
Sundar Pichai, the chief executive officer of Google's parent company Alphabet, described the contribution of immigrants in technology development in the United States as “phenomenal”, noting that the H-1B visa programme has shortcomings which the US government is working to address.
The remarks of Sundar Pichai, who himself moved to the US as an international student before shifting to an H-1B visa, come weeks after Donald Trump announced a $100,000 H-1B visa fee for new applicants.
"If you look at the history of technology development, the contribution of immigrants to the sector has been nothing but phenomenal," Pichai said in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, when asked about the impacts of the crackdown by Trump on H-1B visa holders.
"I think there's a framework by which we all can still bring talented individuals. I think they're making changes to address some of the shortcomings in the current programme," Pichai added.
This is not the first time Pichai has lauded the contribution of immigrants to US's economic progress. In June 2020, following the Trump administration's move to suspend immigrant work visas had said on X, formerly Twitter, that immigration has “contributed immensely to America's economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today”.
"Disappointed by today's proclamation - we'll continue to stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all," he had said.
Trump says will welcome skilled immigrants
In an unrelated yet parallel development, President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will “welcome” to the US skilled immigrants who will “teach” American workers developing complex products like chips and missiles, noting he may take a “little heat” over this from his base which supports immigration restrictions.
"And I may take a little heat. I always take a little heat from my people, the people that love me and the people that I love, they happen to be toward the right of centre, sometimes they are way right,” PTI news agency quoted as saying Trump, addressing the US-Saudi Investment Forum on Wednesday.
Trump said that a large number of plants, including "extremely complex” ones, are being built in the US that will contribute significantly to the country’s economic growth.
Trump added that, given the complex nature of products that will be manufactured in these plants, like telephones, computers, and missiles, companies will have to bring in skilled workers from abroad who can share their knowledge and teach American workers
The event in New York was attended by visiting Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman.
