Elon Musk Takes a Hard Line on Immigration

The serial entrepreneur believes legal immigration must be encouraged, but he is tough on illegal immigration.

Elon Musk is never afraid to touch on and get involved with sensitive subjects. 

The billionaire entrepreneur, who in recent months has become one of the world's most influential personalities, believes that he must speak out on issues he thinks the world must confront. Musk's ambitions are enormous: He promises, for example, that it will be possible to live on Mars in 5 to 10 years.

Unlike many CEOs, the Tesla  (TSLA) - Get Free Report chief is unafraid to opine on hot topics, from the culture wars to guns in America to Russia's war in Ukraine. Musk is everywhere.

He has just weighed in on immigration, a subject that actually is often mentioned by other business leaders, particularly in the tech industry. 

If the CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX is a proponent of legal immigration, there's a red line he won't cross. 

Chinese Illegal Immigrants at Southern Border Rises

Musk commented on an Washington Examiner article that talks about an increase in arrests of Chinese immigrants illegally entering the U.S. via the Mexican border.

The media outlet reports that in January 2022, Border Patrol agents stationed at the U.S.-Mexico border arrested 80 illegal immigrants who were citizens of China. A year later, 1,064 Chinese immigrants were apprehended there, 13 times the year-earlier figure.

The article does not specify why the number of Chinese immigrants has surged.

Other conservative media such as Fox have also recently reported on this phenomenon. Quoting data from a senior Customs and Border Protection source, the outlet reported that arrests of nationals from China are up 800% from the fiscal year earlier including January.

The official numbers have not been released yet. But Musk didn't wait to weigh in.

"I am very much in favor of hard-working people coming to America, but we can’t have de facto open borders with no screening," the billionaire commented on the Washington Examiner's article.

The Techno King, as he's known at Tesla, balances this hard line by also criticizing the current immigration system. 

This looks like an indirect way of calling on lawmakers to reform immigration, a topic that has become very hot in recent months with the influx of migrants from a number of countries at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"Our legal immigration system is super slow & extremely difficult to navigate!" said Musk.

'Incredible Contributions' From Immigrants: Musk

The billionaire also recalled that Asian immigrants had brought a lot to the U.S. Here he counters potential critics who would accuse him of targeting Asian nationals in particular.

"Immigrants from China & other Asian countries have made incredible contributions to America," Musk added.

Musk, an immigrant himself, has always been pro-immigration. Last August he told GOP congressional leaders at an annual donor retreat in Wyoming that the Republican Party should be more compassionate to potential newcomers, Axios reported at the time. 

He told them he chose America because of its opportunities. Immigrants, Musk believes, are vital to maintaining a dynamic economy.

Musk, who was born in South Africa and went to college in Canada and the U.S., believes that immigration, especially legal immigration, is a major strength for America. 

He consequently considers that the decline of legal immigration over the past few years should worry politicians. He reiterated this position last December in a thread on Twitter.

"Immigration is America’s superpower," wrote Alec Stapp, co-CEO of the Institute for Progress, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization dedicated to accelerating scientific, technological, and industrial progress. "This should be a huge concern for US policymakers."

Stapp attached the Washington Post's story below his tweet.

"Absolutely," Musk commented.