Elon Musk weighs in on the economic impacts of illegal immigration

Billionaire Elon Musk weighed in on the economic impacts of illegal immigration in a series of posts on social media as he criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis. Musk took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter which he acquired and rebranded, to call out a variety of services and benefits that illegal immigrants have access to in the U.S. and argue they’re contributing 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," Musk wrote. "What’s the point of being a citizen if an illegal gets all the benefits, but doesn’t pay taxes or do jury duty?" "If you’re wondering why housing is so expensive, this is a major contributor," Musk added. Housing prices in the U.S. hit a new record high in November amid an ongoing shortage of inventory. Mortgage rates are near the highest level in two decades due to the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation, which has made sellers locked into low-rate mortgages reluctant to sell. READ ON THE FOX BUSINESS APP Not only are homebuyers struggling in the current housing market, but burdens on renters are rising as well. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found that the number of American renters considered "cost burdened" by their monthly housing payment in 2022 hit an all-time high of 22.4 million. Renters are considered burdened if they spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities, and the 22.4 million total amounts to roughly half of U.S. tenants. Musk, a legal immigrant to the U.S. who was born and raised in South Africa and then moved to Canada at the age of 18 before later becoming a naturalized American citizen, emphasized that he supports legal immigration pathways despite his opposition to illegal immigration. "As a reminder, I am very much PRO increasing legal immigration significantly," Musk added. "I’m not anti-immigration, I’m just against a massive number of unvetted people flooding into America, which any rational person should be." Musk said that President Biden and lawmakers in Congress who’ve pushed for a border security bill could make progress on resolving the southern border crisis without enacting a new law if the administration simply puts forward an executive order reforming asylum policies. "No laws need to be passed," Musk wrote. "All that is needed is an executive order to require proof before granting an asylum hearing. That is how it used to be." Last week, Biden told reporters that he has done "all I can do" using the executive authority at his disposal to secure the border. Musk also agreed with Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor David Sacks who wrote last week that the border is broken "because this administration refuses to enforce the laws we already have." Musk responded by writing, "exactly." Story by Eric Revell