DUBLIN, Ireland — Microsoft President Brad Smith warned Wednesday that the Trump administration’s plan to block Microsoft and seven other companies from seeking green cards for skilled foreign workers could damage the U.S. technology industry for years. Speaking on the sidelines of the International AI Summit in Dublin, Smith argued that restricting the path to permanent residency for highly skilled immigrants could threaten American prosperity. He pointed to six people recently honored by President Donald Trump with national science and technology medals: five, Smith said, came to the United States as immigrants. “Let’s not put that at risk,” Smith said, referring to the contributions those people and their companies have made to Americans’ well-being and standard of living. He said the companies associated with the five immigrant honorees have a combined market value exceeding 25 percent of the S&P 500’s total. Smith also noted the timing of the administration’s move: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who came to the United States from India on an H-1B skilled-worker visa, was among the honorees recognized by the president on the same day the restrictions were announced. The dispute highlights a central tension in immigration policy: how to enforce limits while ensuring American employers can recruit workers with specialized skills. The administration’s planned restrictions target Microsoft and seven other businesses seeking green cards for foreign workers; the details of the policy were not provided in Smith’s remarks. For the technology industry, the stakes include access to talent in fields such as artificial intelligence. For policymakers, the debate is whether tighter rules protect American workers or risk pushing sought-after professionals and the businesses they help build toward other countries.