Musk Highlights Economic Impacts of Illegal Immigration
Billionaire Elon Musk took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to express his concerns about the economic impacts of illegal immigration and criticize the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis. Musk pointed out various services and benefits that illegal immigrants have access to in the U.S., including bank loans, mortgages, insurance, driver’s licenses, free healthcare (in California and New York), and in-state college tuition. He argued that these benefits contribute to the housing affordability crisis and questioned the fairness of non-citizens receiving all these privileges without paying taxes or fulfilling civic duties like jury duty.
Rising Housing Prices and Rent Burdens
Housing prices in the U.S. reached a record high in November due to the ongoing shortage of inventory. The Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation has led to mortgage rates being near the highest level in two decades, making homeowners with low-rate mortgages reluctant to sell. This exacerbates the struggle for homebuyers in the current housing market. Additionally, renters are also facing burdens as the number of “cost burdened” American renters hit an all-time high of 22.4 million in 2022. Renters are considered burdened if they spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, and this figure represents roughly half of all U.S. tenants.
Musk Supports Legal Immigration
While highlighting his opposition to illegal immigration, Elon Musk emphasized that he is very much in favor of increasing legal immigration pathways. As a legal immigrant himself, Musk, who was born and raised in South Africa and later became a naturalized American citizen, clarified that his concern lies with a massive number of unvetted people flooding into America. He believes it is essential to strike a balance between maintaining border security and supporting legal immigration.
Musk Calls for Executive Order Reform
Elon Musk suggested that President Biden and lawmakers in Congress could address the southern border crisis without passing new laws. Musk proposed that the administration issue an executive order reforming asylum policies, requiring proof before granting an asylum hearing. He argued that this approach used to be the norm and could help resolve the current situation without the need for legislative action.
Musk’s views align with Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Sacks, who stated that the border is broken because of the administration’s failure to enforce existing laws. Musk expressed his agreement with Sacks, emphasizing the importance of enforcing the laws already in place.
Contributors: Breck Dumas (FOX Business) and Michael Dorgan (Fox News)