Elon Musk, owner of X, formerly known as Twitter, visited the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, Sept. 28, as the billionaire finds himself more involved in the nation’s political landscape. Musk met local law enforcement and politicians at the Texas border with Mexico to get a firsthand look at the situation.
Musk’s visit comes off the heels of a busy week at the border as thousands of migrants have hopped on freight trains and buses headed for the U.S. border in an increase of migrants seeking asylum.
Musk visited Eagle Pass, where the border has been flooded by migrants wading across the Rio Grande in recent days. The Texas National Guard set up coils of razor wires along the bank of the river, but that has not seemed to deter migrants.
Musk, an immigrant from South Africa, took to his social media platform, offering his thoughts on immigration policy.
“I believe that we need a greatly expanded legal immigration system and that we should let anyone in the country who is hard working and honest and would be a contributor to the United States, we should have expedited legal approval for anyone who, sort of, falls into that category,” Musk said. “But then, by the same token, we should also not be allowing people in the country if they are breaking the law.”
In the video, Musk said he is “extremely pro-immigrant,” but added that if nothing is done about the swarms of migrants crossing the border illegally, the U.S. is going to have a “collapse of social services.” Musk pointed to New York City as an example.
“Even America’s largest city, New York, is buckling under the pressure of just how many illegal immigrants are going to New York,” Musk said. “If New York can’t handle it, pretty much no part of the country can.”
Musk has a vested interest in the Texas economy as there is a Tesla Gigafactory plant in Austin and a SpaceX launch facility off the coast of Boca Chica.
