Elon Musk goes to the border and leaves stunned: 'Complete madness' | Washington Examiner
By: anna-giaritelli (Washington Examiner)
We see this day in and day out.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
AUSTIN, Texas — Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk stepped away from running Tesla, SpaceX, and X to see the declining situation at the U.S-Mexico border, leaving visibly stunned by the "madness" that has engulfed not just border towns but cities nationwide.
At the invitation of Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Musk traveled to Eagle Pass, a town of 28,000 residents in south-central Texas that has seen as many as 2,000 people arrested daily for coming into the United States illegally over the past few weeks.
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The visit was a first for Musk, who is not a politician but has drawn attention to the border crisis and other problems since purchasing Twitter, now rebranded as X, and using his account to share his personal views.
President Joe Biden also visited a border state on Wednesday and Thursday but did not visit the border following his attendance at a pricey Democratic fundraiser in Phoenix, Arizona, and tribute to the late Republican Sen. John McCain.
Musk, an immigrant himself, used the tour as an opportunity to livestream the experience on X. He prefaced conversations with city and law enforcement officials by saying that he viewed himself as "extremely pro-immigrant" and supported expanding the U.S. legal immigration system.
Went to the Eagle Pass border crossing to see what's really going on pic.twitter.com/ADYY2XvAKT
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 29, 2023
But Musk also sympathized with illegal immigrants already in the country who are "hardworking and honest and will be a contributor to the United States" and said they ought to be given a quick way to legalize their status.
"But then, by the same token, we should also not be allowing people in the country if they look at the regular law, that doesn't make sense. The law is there for a reason," Musk said.
On the ground in Eagle Pass
Gonzales showed Musk an unfenced holding area under one of three bridges that connect Eagle Pass to the Mexican city of Piedras Negras. Between two of the bridges on the U.S. side, golfers putted through a city-run course, while no more than a few dozen feet away, immigrants who had made it ashore after attempting to walk or swim across the Rio Grande were being walked to the bridge for intake.
Border Patrol has staged an area under the second bridge for holding people immediately after they cross the river, and they are brought to this initial intake space before being transported to a tent outside town for further intake and a chance to shower and eat.
"You're seeing hundreds of people getting processed, and this is every single day. ... You see how orderly it is? It's like an orderly, chaotic, unruly event that's happened," Gonzales said. "They will go to another soft-sided facility that has thousands of people — over 5,000 people."
Here's inside the pop-up tent outside Eagle Pass (referred to by Border Patrol agents as Firefly). It's where people are taken after waiting under the bridge.
This was meant to be a rec room for soccer, but Del Rio Sector is so overwhelmed, it's been turned into overflow. https://t.co/Fz0VgjD2oFpic.twitter.com/SZGQOMOvFn
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) September 22, 2023
Musk learned that illegal immigrants who have crossed the border into Eagle Pass this summer were not returned to the country they traveled from, according to Gonzales.
More than 2 million of the 7 million encountered at the border since Biden took office in 2021 have been released into the U.S.
"Here in Del Rio, Del Rio Sector is part of nine sectors — we're getting over 2,500 people coming over illegally a day, and we are, we are repatriating or sending back zero," Gonzales said.
"Zero?" Musk stated in disbelief. "It's exceeding the population of the town on a regular basis."
Impact on Americans
The two discussed an incident in which an illegal immigrant was taken into custody and agents noticed tattoos on his face, including drawings of teardrops. The man was released into the U.S. rather than turned away, according to the congressman.
"When someone tattoos a tear, it means that they have murdered someone. And they are so proud of having murdered someone that they tattoo one tear on their face for every person that they kill," Musk said he had learned from his conversations. "Most likely, if they were murdering people somewhere else and proud of it, they will continue in that tradition."
Gonzales said that those types of instances are what concerns his constituents, who do not feel safe because they do not know who is being released into their community. Immigrants can only be screened against the FBI's terrorist database and U.S. criminal records. Arrests and convictions in all other countries are not accessible to Border Patrol.
Cities up north have felt the impacts of the mass releases, too, Musk said.
"Even America's largest city, New York, is buckling under the pressure of just how many illegal immigrants are going to New York. If New York can't handle it, well, pretty much no part of the country can, so if we don't do something soon, we're just going to have a collapse in social services, as we're already seeing in New York," Musk said.
'This is about solutions'
Gonzales listed "commonsense" actions the Biden administration can take and said they would "make a difference today," not just in the future.
"Simple things like raising the level of credible fear. Many people are seeking asylum [and] are not going to qualify for asylum," Gonzales said. "Most of the people that are seeking asylum are not going to qualify for asylum. Nine out of 10 actually are not."
Musk said figuring out the key phrases to convince border agents upon arrest to place you into asylum proceedings and then be released was as simple as going on Google and searching.
"And then you're automatically in this asylum ... sort of queue, which takes several years before you actually see [a judge], and then even if you do see one, even if you are denied, you're not deported," Musk said.
Eagle Pass https://t.co/hb462Hymko
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 28, 2023
Gonzales recommended increasing the number of repatriation flights and moving immigration judges from cities across the country to the border. This would allow them to hear cases immediately so that immigrants whose claims are denied can be repatriated to their country of origin rather than released into the U.S. and told to wait several years before appearing in court.
Illegal immigrants must face consequences but also due process to ensure people who meet the initial asylum threshold can have their final day in court, the congressman said.
"There has to be repercussions. And once you do that, Elon, this goes away. It went away for Trump. It went away for Obama. It went away for Bush. It went away for Clinton. And [the Biden administration is] not willing to do that," Gonzales said. "They think it's just, you know, 'The Republicans are blaming the Democrats. Democrats are blaming the Republicans, and it's not real.'"
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Musk has increasingly drawn significant international attention to the situation at the southern border through his posts on social media.
Last week, Musk reacted to a Washington Examiner report that concluded immigrant encounters by Customs and Border Protection peaked in August at the highest monthly number in history: 304,162.
No Trump even though there is a passing reference to him and other past presidents.
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You need to open the article and look and listen to the embedded media...............
And a follow up
Yep, Biden went to Arizona but he sure did not go to the physical border. He instead went to a extravagant fund raiser in Phoenix but preferred not to dirty his feet or hands at a actual real border crossing area. How pathetic!
Have to wonder if any of the deniers will even bother to open the article and listen to the media.. Probably not.
It's a shame what is going on with this country.
Its insane this is happening and Democratic leaders will tell you the "border is secure"
Our system is dysfunctional. Partisan politics continues to derive irrational actions on the part of the 'leaders'. Thus problems like illegal immigration continue while our politicians engage in squabbles among themselves.
... and will remain so until the chaos cookie crumbles.
The current chaos is bought to the USA by none other than the Biden administration and many unpatriotic Democrats, who will likely be the victims of unintended consequences they haven't foreseen.
Elon Musk is an example of a legal immigrant. One who has assimilated and loves his country.
Elon was lucky his mother was a Canadian which made it far, far easier for him to eventually obtain US citizenship.
As to loving his country, which one does he love best, Canada, South Africa or the US?
Musk plays musical drums, whose is he banging lately?
[ deleted here you go: ]
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Musk, an immigrant himself, used the tour as an opportunity to livestream the experience on X. He prefaced conversations with city and law enforcement officials by saying that he viewed himself as "extremely pro-immigrant" and supported expanding the U.S. legal immigration system.
Lol. When that happens just watch how quickly the NT right goes into turbo outrage. But as long as it is not happening they are happy to pretend this billionaire is one of them.
Are you in favor of expanding the US legal immigration system?
Yes. This country is built on the hard work of immigrant labor, as Musk alludes to.
Correction: LEGAL IMMIGRANTS and FREE ENTERPRISE.
What is your point? You seem to be finding something in my comment that supports illegal immigration. Please point that out for me.
You do know the difference, right?
If you are against illegal immigration, you only need to say so.
I imagine it won't be long for those defending the dumpster fire in charge of border security shrieking about reform and other BS.
Unless he has a plan he is just saying what everyone already knows.