Despite growing opposition from conservative supporters, Trump has insisted that skilled immigrants should be allowed into the United States to support the expansion of domestic advanced manufacturing. Speaking in Washington on Wednesday, Trump singled out labor needs for new factories, including one TSMC is building in Arizona.
"You can't come over and invest billions of dollars in building a huge computer chip factory, like in Arizona, and then think you can recruit people directly from the unemployed to run it," Trump said at the US-Saudi Investment Forum. "They have to bring thousands of people with them, and I will welcome these people."
The speech was the latest example of Trump's vocal support for skilled immigrants. Supporters of the policy point out that the administration’s actual actions do not currently match Trump’s stance.
In September this year, U.S. law enforcement agencies conducted a raid on the Georgia joint venture battery factory of Hyundai Motor and LG New Energy. This incident once caused tensions between the United States and South Korea. Critics believe that the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions may scare away foreign investors.
At Wednesday's forum, Trump acknowledged that his advocacy of welcoming skilled immigrants could spark dissatisfaction among conservative supporters. These people generally support the government's tough policies on immigration.
"I love my conservative friends, I love the MAGA movement, but that in itself is MAGA," he said. "My poll numbers are down, but they're up a lot among smart people."
Trump also said that day that he envisioned bringing in overseas workers to help cultivate a generation of Americans with advanced technologies.
"If you have to bring people in to get those factories open, we want you to do that, we want those people to teach our workers how to make computer chips, how to make other things," he said.