Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday accused a Stetson-clad Elon Musk of taking a “journey” to the U.S.-Mexico border after traveling to the Texas town of Eagle Pass and warning that some “pretty extreme people” would arrive illegally.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has long been critical of Musk, condemned his visit to the city and praised his leader, local Republican congressman Tony Gonzalez, for particular contempt.
“What’s funny about this photo?” she wrote on X on Thursday.
“The House of Representatives is holding crucial votes in DC tonight, people are fighting to prevent a shutdown, but this Republican congressman has decided to skip town to joyride with a billionaire while his own party only has one in the single digits has a head start and needs his vote.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been in a war of words with Elon Musk for a long time
The day before, Musk mocked the Democratic congresswoman and responded to her claim that more migrants entered the US through Ellis Island than arrived illegally across the Rio Grande.
Musk commented, “She’s just not that smart.”
Ocasio-Cortez hit back, answering Musk: “I wasn’t born rich and became the youngest woman in American history elected to Congress.” Then I investigated Cohen, launching FEMA’s largest funeral assistance program in history and led the creation of a US Climate Corps to create tens of thousands of new jobs.
“Stay angry.”
Their anger at Musk came after he warned in Eagle Pass that New York’s inability to deal with the refugee crisis was an ominous sign for the rest of the country.
South African-born Musk insisted he was “extremely pro-immigrant” but said he would like to see the system regulated.
And he warned that there were also violent criminals among the migrants.
“We’re in this absurd situation where the vast majority of people are not actually asylum seekers – you can actually read what magic words you need to say on Google in any language you want,” Musk said.
“And then you automatically stand in the institution, in the queue, so to speak.” It takes several years before you actually see someone. And even if you are rejected, you will not be deported.’
Gonzalez agreed, saying that this has served to attract more people and undermine the prospects of those trying to enter the United States legally.
Musk continued: “To be clear, we are both very much in favor of expanding legal migration.”
“I think anyone who is hardworking and honest and is a net asset to the economy – I think we should let them in.”
“But in some cases, I think we see some pretty extreme individuals coming through.” Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone feels that way. “But you’re talking about a guy who got away with facial tattoos – a teardrop.”
Musk explained that a tattoo of tears on his face is an indication of having murdered someone.
A Stetson-clad Elon Musk was in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday to try to livestream interviews from the embattled border town. He warned that the livestream would be “raw” and unedited – and sure enough, it crashed after just four minutes
Musk is seen in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday as he attempts to livestream interviews with local officials
In his livestream from Eagle Pass, Texas, Musk said he wanted to share scenes from the crowded border town with his 158 million followers, at one point pointing his camera at rows of people sitting on the ground waiting for processing under a bridge.
But the stream stopped after just four minutes, an echo of his disastrous attempt to host Ron DeSantis’ campaign launch on X. This transmission was also affected by repeated connection interruptions.
Musk began by saying he was there to “watch what’s going on so you can get the real story.”
It is believed that 100,000 people waded into the city through the Rio Grande last week.
Law enforcement in Eagle Pass has also arrested more than 17,000 illegal immigrants in the last 10 days, according to the Washington Examiner.
Shelters in border towns like Eagle Pass are well past capacity due to the thousands of crossings per day.
Flanked by Tony Gonzalez, the local congressman, Musk said: “This is not a piece that is filmed and then edited. ‘This is the raw fodder.’
He added: “As an immigrant to the United States, I am extremely pro-immigrant and believe that we need an expanded immigration system so that everyone who is hardworking and honest should be allowed in.”
“But we shouldn’t let people in who break the law.” That doesn’t make any sense. “The law is there for a reason.”
He said it was important to stop “an influx of people so large that it is causing a collapse of essential services and causing even America’s largest city, New York, to buckle under the pressure.”
The South African-born billionaire added: “If New York can’t handle it, almost no part of the country can.”
The live stream then crashed after just four minutes.
Eagle Pass has seen an increase in migrant crossings in recent weeks, with 7,500 people crossing the Rio Grande in two days.
Harrowing images from the porous border show droves of migrants traversing difficult terrain and wading through the Rio Grande.
Families can be seen clinging to one another, some struggling to carry sodden bags of belongings across the water.
After crossing from the Mexican side in Piedras Negras, the asylum seekers are met by police forces, including the National Guard, before reaching long lines of barbed wire.
Officials help people through the area, including lifting small, travel-exhausted children to safety, while many migrants line up and wait to be processed.
Musk’s livestream returned after a 30-minute delay and the connection remained active for 11 minutes before Musk logged out and crashed again.
Gonzalez, the local congressman, said this district needs more help.
“It’s not a partisan issue,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a political question. We can be humane, we can protect those who need asylum and expel those who don’t.”
During the month of August, more than 232,000 migrants crossed the U.S.-Mexico border – and this year the number is estimated to have risen to two million
Some migrants struggled with sodden bags full of belongings as they tried to cross the river, where they were met by military troops on the Texas side
After entering the United States, many migrants were seen lining up as they waited to be processed by border officials
Musk added that he had heard that you could search Google for the right terms to trigger an asylum claim.
“What we’re seeing here are, in some cases, quite extreme individuals,” Musk said.
“Obviously not everyone is like that.”
Musk said he had heard stories of “unrepentant murderers” with teardrop tattoos on their faces who had sought asylum and disappeared into the system.
He told Gonzalez, “That sounds like complete madness.”
Gonzalez replied, “It is.” Imagine having to live in it every day. That’s why it’s so important that you come here. Does any of this seem normal to you?’
Musk asked some Border Patrol agents if they wanted to speak, but they told him they were not authorized to do so.
“Can we talk to anyone else?” he asked Gonzalez before finally ending the livestream.
Many migrants, including young children, are victims of sophisticated, multi-billion dollar human trafficking programs run by drug cartels that funnel people across the border
A border agent walked along barbed wire along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas
A large percentage of migrants come from Venezuela, which has been economically devastated in recent years as the country’s population shrinks
As officials scramble for solutions, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has led the movement to bus migrants to northern states to share the burden of ineffective border policies while drawing attention to the crisis.
In New York, where more than 100,000 migrants poured into the city, Mayor Eric Adams admitted this month that the influx could “destroy” the Big Apple.
But Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas criticized the comments as he criticized Biden’s response to the influx in Eagle Pass, saying on social media this week: “We are not a city that has the resources of cities like New York.” , Chicago or other cities.” like that.
“There are already big cities complaining about accepting large numbers of undocumented immigrants.” I mean, we are Eagle Pass. Since we have limited resources, this is not sustainable.
“As mayor, it is disappointing that we have not heard from the President of the United States or the Vice President of the United States…”
“To this day, I have not heard a concrete plan of action to prevent this from happening again.” “Sometimes we feel kind of abandoned here at the border here in Eagle Pass.”