The Trump administration is suspending tech giant Microsoft from a program used to apply for green cards for employees residing and working in the U.S. on H-1B visas, alleging the company committed fraud.
"If you do the math, for every worker that Microsoft laid off, they replaced that worker with one and a half foreign indentured servants," said Vice President JD Vance at a White House news conference announcing the decision on Thursday.
The H-1B visa program has long been targeted by Trump supporters, who argue that the system undercuts American workers and is plagued by abuse.
H-1B visas are intended for high-skilled roles that are hard to fill with American candidates.
Technology companies are the primary users of the program, with almost three-quarters of approvals granted to workers hailing from India.
Microsoft, which is headquartered near Seattle in Redmond, Washington, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The statement by Vance came a day after Trump's Republican administration launched a broadside against international students and their capacity to gain employment in the U.S.
Trump is set to award the National Medal of Science upon Elon Musk and a group of leading technology executives on Thursday, a White House official confirmed to NewsNation.
The SpaceX and Tesla chief will be recognized during a White House event titled "Science: A New Golden Age." Three additional tech industry figures will receive the award: Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su.
Additionally, the president will bestow the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the country’s highest accolade for technological achievement, on two figures. Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, are scheduled to accept the honor on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security introduced a proposed $70,000 fee for international students seeking to work in the United States.
The measure would force academic institutions to pay the fee for every student enrolled in the Optional Practical Training program, or OPT, which allows students to hold jobs tied to their major during or following their education.
Vance also called out universities he claimed were abusing a scheme that permits foreign students into the U.S.
The temporary J-1 visas allow international participants to enter the U.S. for work and study exchange initiatives. Vance named nine universities he said required further investigation for J-1 visa fraud, alleging they utilized the program at higher rates than their counterparts.