The White House on Thursday (October 23, 2025) said the Trump administration would “fight in court” to defend its latest changes to the H-1B visa programme, arguing that the reforms are aimed at protecting American workers and tackling long-standing abuses in the system.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the President “wants to refine this system,” describing it as one that has “been spammed with fraud basically and that’s driven down American wages.” She said the administration views its new policies as both lawful and necessary, despite lawsuits filed by tech industry groups and universities.
“The President’s main priority has always been to put American workers first and also to strengthen our visa system,” Leavitt said. “These actions are lawful. They are necessary and we’ll continue to fight this battle in court.”
Context and industry reaction
The comments come amid a fresh wave of legal challenges to new restrictions on the H-1B visa program, which U.S. technology companies and research institutions use to hire highly skilled foreign workers, many of them from India. The lawsuits argue that the administration’s rule changes—tightening eligibility criteria and altering the lottery system—violate administrative procedures and will hurt American competitiveness.
