POLITICS: Ramaswamy got the H1-B debate wrong—but so did his critics

MAGA world erupted after Christmas in a not-very-useful debate over H-1B visas — a side issue that while important, especially to the tech industry, can’t possibly be Team Trump’s top immigration priority.

Before anything else, the new president must get the border fully under control and start undoing the worst damage from the Biden disaster.

That is in fact the plan: Border Czar-designate Tom Homan is already getting set to ID, detain and deport the worst criminals, including the Tren de Aragua crews.

The new Homeland Security team under Kristi Noem will oversee a border clampdown; Trump diplomacy is already focused on muscling Mexico, Panama and other nations into helping stop the endless waves rather than encouraging them.

The country must also address the millions of other illegal migrants waved in these last four years, sending many home.

Politically, neither the American people nor Congress will accept any special immigration-law favors for Big Tech, business generally and any other particular faction until the big picture is fully under control.

And any rushed effort to pass some “fix everything” legislation will either produce an “omnibus” bill as grotesque as the one Trump kiboshed before Christmas, or see Congress mired in a deadlock that only benefits those rooting for the Trump presidency to fail.

The H-1B sideshow debate started with cranks complaining about a Trump appointee who won’t even oversee anything connected to immigration policy; Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswarmy then shot back with a mix of fair points and obnoxious idiocy.

Musk called out what the tech world most wants: “bringing in via legal immigration the top ~0.1% of engineering talent as being essential for America to keep winning,” he declared on X, just as the Dodgers imported Shohei Ohtani to boost their game.

But Ramaswamy foolishly argued that American companies have to tap foreign workers because “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long,” while Musk promoted a tweet that constantly referred to Americans as retards.

Idiots: The United States remains by far the best country in the world to find success because our culture (despite the left’s best efforts) still rewards innovation, entrepreneurship, hard work and grit.

That’s why kids in every other country grow up watching American movies, listening to American music and using products invented right here in the US of A.

Most important: For now Big Tech is going to have to make do with the (flawed) H-1B program it already has, and when the time does come for broad legislation, insults will only hurt its cause.

President-elect Donald Trump plainly wants the debate shut down, telling The Post’s Jon Levine of H-1Bs: “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them.”

That was a clear public signal to Musk & Co. that he’ll be on their side when we get to that debate, so they should drop the question until then.

Trump has always been clear on his vision: Build the Wall, but give it some “big, beautiful doors” for high-quality immigrants; he’s even suggested that foreign students who graduate from US universities should get a green card.

Enforcement first, which includes clarifying (before the Supreme Court if necessary) that “asylum seeker” rights are severely limited. Then look at legal migration, in its totality.

Those laws certainly need massive reform, but that’ll require working with Congress to sort it all out.

Battling now over one piece of the puzzle does nothing but burn bridges before we even get to them.