San Francisco [US], September 22 (ANI): Former X (earlier Twitter) executive Esther Crawford has hit back at anti-immigrant rhetoric on X, saying the platform itself survived because of H-1B engineers, many from India and China, who worked tirelessly during the company's takeover period.

Crawford, who served as Director of Product Management during the company's takeover and rebranding as X, said that the platform survived because of the H-1B engineers from India and China after the takeover, as they worked long hours during critical times.

'Twitter/X survived because of H-1B engineers, mostly from India & China. They stayed after the acquisition, worked long hours and solved brutally complex problems alongside American colleagues. When posting anti-immigrant takes, remember: they're the reason you can tweet at all,' she wrote on X.

https://x.com/esthercrawford/status/1969833079725559944?s=12

Her remarks come after US President Donald Trump's recent H-1B visa proclamation imposed a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications.

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of Commerce defended the Trump administration's latest immigration measures and slammed the US Former President Joe Biden for the influx of large numbers of 'illegal aliens in America'.

'For the past four years, open-border Democrats endlessly flooded the country with illegal aliens at the expense of hardworking Americans. The Trump administration is completely reversing course on that disastrous agenda. These programs guarantee that recipients who come to work in America must provide significant benefit to our great country. We are ending workers taking jobs away from hard working Americans and taking advantage of our economy and providing nothing in return. The Trump Card begins to restore our immigration system to its intended purpose: significantly benefitting America,' the Secretary said in an X post.

After the White House, the US State Department on Sunday (local time) also issued a clarification on Trump's order, debunking many false claims circulating on H1-B visa rules.

The State department stressed that the new H-1B rules 'do not apply to any previously issued H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 am Eastern Daylight Time on September 21, 2025.'

It further clarified that the new fee requirement applies only to individuals or companies filing fresh petitions or entering the lottery system after September 21. Current visa holders and applications submitted before that date remain unaffected. (ANI)