Billionaire Elon Musk has come down heavily on US President Joe Biden's immigration policy. In a series of tweets, he narrated the difficulties he and his mother, Maye Musk, had to face before they were given US citizenship.
Elon himself is a legal immigrant from South Africa to the United States and has often spoken out against illegal immigration. In one of the posts on Twitter (now X), he blamed illegal immigration for the housing affordability crisis that the United States is facing.
"I'm not anti-immigration; I'm just against a massive number of unvetted people flooding into America, which any rational person should be," he said.
His mother, Maye, also highlighted the struggle she had to go through to obtain US citizenship, adding that it took her 12 years to become a US citizen.
"I couldn't get US citizenship even though my father and grandmother were born in Minnesota, and my grandfather, John Elon Haldeman, was born in Illinois. I was born in Canada so it took me 12 years through visas, a green card, a lawyer, and numerous medical tests. That's how hard it is," her post read.
Maye was responding to a tweet that claimed that ruling Democrats are granting citizenship to illegal immigrants to remain in power.
Elon later responded to his mother's post and wrote, "Yeah, it was extremely difficult and took over a decade for me to get US citizenship".
A few other things you probably don’t know: illegals in America can get bank loans, mortgages, insurance, driver’s licenses, free healthcare (California & New York) and in-state college tuition.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 3, 2024
What’s the point of being a citizen if an illegal gets all the benefits, but doesn’t…
Both Elon and Maye have been vocal critics of Biden's immigration policy. They claim that Biden is allowing unvetted and illegal immigrants to enter the US so he can create a "permanent majority" for the Democrats.
Last year, Elon visited the Texas-Mexico border to meet local politicians and assess the situation the US faces as a result of the migrant crisis.
He live-streamed his visit to give people an idea of the "real situation". He called himself "extremely pro-immigrant" and asked the US authorities for "expedited legal approval".
"I'm extremely pro-immigrant, and I believe that we need a greatly expanded legal immigration system and that we should let anyone in the country who is hardworking and honest and will be a contributor to the United States," Elon can be heard saying in the video clip he posted on micro-blogging platform X.
"We should have expedited legal approval for anyone who sort of falls in that category. But then, by the same token, we should also not be allowing people in the country if they're breaking the law. That doesn't make sense. The law is there for a reason," he added.
There has been a significant increase in the number of migrants entering the US through its Mexico border under Biden.
According to a report by the Washington Post, over 2.3 million migrants have entered the country under Biden. In 2023, a New York Times report claimed that there are around 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.
The tension between the Democrats and the Republicans over immigration is at its peak currently. Biden is under immense pressure from all sides. US immigration reforms have become the focus of the 2024 elections in the US.
