Elon Musk visits Texas-Mexico border, calls for expedited legal approval

Billionaire Elon Musk paid a visit to the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday (Sep 28) and met with local politicians and law enforcement officers. His wading into the US immigration debate comes as thousands of migrants have ventured to northern Mexico in recent days and then crossed the US border into Texas. Dressed in a black T-shirt, black cowboy hat, and aviator-style sunglasses, Musk visited the Eagle Pass, where throngs of migrants have for several days been wading across the Rio Grande near a railroad bridge near the city.

Musk described his visit as an "unfiltered" view of the situation.

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Musk calls himself extremely pro-immigrant

"So, you know, I think we want to, I think we want to do both things; smooth out legal immigration and then stop, you know, sort of a flow, a flow of people that is of such magnitude that is actually leading to a collapse of social services where 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," Musk said.

Musk, who is a native of South Africa, noted his status as an "immigrant to the United States" and called himself "extremely pro-immigrant." He called for an "expedited legal approval" as part of a "greatly expanded legal immigration system" that welcomes "hard-working and honest" migrants, while also barring entry for those who are "breaking the law."

"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, 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.

Migrants trying to reach US from Mexico intercepted by officials

Also on Thursday, a group of migrants trying to reach the US from Mexico were intercepted by border officials after they arrived on shore. Drone footage showed migrants crossing the border river. Speaking to the news agency Reuters, an unidentified Venezuelan migrant said, "From Colombia to Peru. From Peru to Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, any place. Those countries too are falling apart. When he (my son) was two months I went back to Venezuela and then I came here."

Officials have reported that with groups of migrants as large as 2,000 attempting to cross into the US, Border Patrol is actively engaged in trying to manage the influx.

Last week, Texas officials signed an emergency declaration to seek funding for additional services.

(With inputs from agencies)

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