Steve Bannon Targets Elon Musk Using GOP-Backed Immigration Bill

The Laken Riley Act provides legal tools that could escalate a growing feud within the MAGA coalition over high-skilled immigrant visas.

Steve Bannon plans to leverage provisions in the Laken Riley Act to challenge visa programs for high-skilled immigrants, particularly H-1B visas supported by Elon Musk and other tech leaders.
The bill, which advanced in the Senate with bipartisan support, allows state attorneys general to sue to block visas for countries refusing deportees, potentially impacting the tech industry’s access to foreign talent.
Bannon has identified Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a key ally to push lawsuits that could halt visas for countries like India, a major source of tech workers.
Musk, who relies on H-1B visas for his companies, has publicly defended the program, arguing that it addresses a shortage of skilled engineering talent in the U.S.
The dispute highlights a broader ideological rift within the MAGA movement, pitting populist anti-immigration factions against tech-aligned proponents of skilled foreign labor.