Tesla CEO Elon Musk has continued to address illegal immigration issues on X, a social media platform he owns. Now, his mother, Maye Musk, joined in on the debate and reflected on the challenges their family faced during their immigration to the U.S.
What Happened: Elon Musk stated he is “PRO increasing legal immigration significantly” and clarified, “I'm not anti-immigration, I'm just against a massive number of unvetted people flooding into America, which any rational person should be.”
In response to his post, Maye Musk recalled instances when her son faced difficulties entering the U.S. due to paperwork issues at the Toronto airport. She mentioned having to provide additional documentation, such as a pink slip verifying Elon’s status as a University of Pennsylvania student.
The Musk family, originally from South Africa, initially settled in Canada before immigrating to the U.S. Elon Musk attended Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, earning his bachelor’s degree in physics and economics in 1997.
Maye Musk highlighted the challenges her other children, Kimbal and Tosca, faced due to their Canadian citizenship, preventing them from visiting Elon at college. She discussed the difficulties the family encountered during the immigration process, emphasizing the lengthy wait and legal complexities.
“When we moved to the USA as immigrants, we had to show extreme competencies, pay lawyers and wait 9-12 years to become U.S. citizens,” Maye Musk said.
“Now young and old can walk into America illegally, and receive numerous benefits which we pay for. Any other legal immigrants think this isn't fair?”
“I couldn't get U.S. 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, green card, lawyer, and numerous medical tests. That's how hard it is,” she said, accompanied by a photo of her father’s birth certificate.
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Why It Matters: The conversation around immigration has gained significance as it becomes a key election issue, contributing to challenges faced by President Joe Biden.
According to an ABC News report, migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico swelled to a record 302,000 in December and over 100,000 migrants have been transported to cities like Washington, Los Angeles and New York.
Aside from opposition from Republicans, Biden is reportedly facing divisions within the Democratic party.
Nobel laureate and economist Paul Krugman said in a post over the weekend that immigration has become a major election issue, partly because “it's becoming harder for Republicans to run against Biden on the economy.” He argued that the immigrant population has added strength to the labor force and in turn, helps keep inflation in check.
Photo via Shutterstock
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