Billionaire Elon Musk took to social media to voice his concerns about the economic implications of illegal immigration, adding his criticism to the ongoing debate surrounding the Joe Biden administration's approach to an alleged border crisis.
In a series of posts on X, Musk highlighted various services and benefits that he believes illegal immigrants have access to in the United States, highlighting their alleged contribution to the housing affordability crisis.
"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. What's the point of being a citizen if an illegal gets all the benefits, but doesn't pay taxes or do jury duty?" he wrote.
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…
"If you're wondering why housing is so expensive, this is a major contributor," he added.
With housing prices reaching record highs in November and mortgage rates near two-decade highs due to the Federal Reserve's fight against inflation, the US real estate market is facing challenges, a Fox News report claims. Homebuyers are struggling, and renters are experiencing a surge in financial burdens, the report adds.
Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies revealed that in 2022, an unprecedented 22.4 million American renters were considered "cost burdened" by their monthly housing payments. Renters are classified as "burdened" if they spend more than 30 per cent of their income on rent and utilities, and this staggering number represents roughly half of all US tenants.
Born and raised in South Africa, Musk moved to Canada at the age of 18 before becoming a US citizen. "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.
The Tesla chief's mother, Maye Musk, 75, in a separate post, highlighted her struggles of getting US citizenship, even claiming that it took her 12 years to become a US citizenship.
"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.
Responding to it, Musk wrote, "Yeah, it was extremely difficult and took over a decade for me to get US citizenship."
Yeah, it was extremely difficult and took over a decade for me to get US citizenship
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2024
US Senators on Sunday released a $20.2 billion legislation for border security and immigration policy changes agreed to by Democratic and Republican negotiators. The new law would give President Joe Biden the power to reject asylum seekers if illegal border crossings reached over 5,000 per week, news agency AFP reported.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
