Tech mogul Elon Musk threw cold water on border legislation favored by US President Joe Biden late Friday as Republican opposition mounts to a proposed bipartisan Senate deal.
“No laws need to be passed,” wrote the outspoken CEO of Tesla and X, formerly known as Twitter. “All that is needed is an executive order to require proof before granting an asylum hearing. That is how it used to be.”
Musk also approvingly reposted commentary from venture capitalist David Sacks claiming “Biden’s policy is open borders. Everything else is noise.”
“That is undeniable at this point,” Musk wrote in response.
Biden has proposed a compromise on border issues with congressional Republicans in recent weeks in exchange for continued military aid to Ukraine. “For too long, we all know the border’s been broken,” the president said in a statement released Friday. “That’s why two months ago, I instructed my team to begin negotiations with a bipartisan group of Senators to seriously, and finally, address the border crisis.”
Biden’s willingness to compromise on the issue suggests the degree of importance he places on aid to Ukraine, which has stalled in Congress amidst increasing opposition.
“What’s been negotiated would – if passed into law – be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border we’ve ever had in our country,” Biden added.
Many Democrats have historically opposed increased immigration in the United States. “I think at a time when the middle class is shrinking, the last thing we need is to bring, over a period of years, millions of people into this country who are prepared to lower wages for American workers,” progressive Senator Bernie Sanders said in 2007.
Former Democratic President Barack Obama was dubbed the “deporter-in-chief” by immigrant rights activists angered by the high number of deportations that took place during his two terms.
But the issue has become intensely polarized since 2016 when former President Donald Trump unveiled controversial proposals to forcefully expel undocumented immigrants and separate family members at the border. Liberals claim Trump’s focus on the issue is part of a nativist agenda, while conservatives increasingly allege that undocumented immigration is a national security and criminal justice issue.
Republicans have also claimed Democrats are trying to reshape the US electorate under the guise of a surge of Latino immigration to the country. Earlier this month Musk wrote that the Biden administration sees migrants as “potential Dem voters.”
President Biden may be counting on continued Congressional dysfunction to derail border legislation given the issue is highly controversial with elements of the Democratic Party base. Indeed, some members of the Republican party have taken former President Trump’s lead in rejecting the Senate compromise.
“A bad border deal is far worse than no border deal,” wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform Saturday.
Trump’s posturing seems to suggest he plans to run on the issue once again in the 2024 election. Comprehensive immigration reform in the United States has been repeatedly derailed since being proposed by former President George W. Bush in 2004. Current rhetoric on the subject suggests the issue will remain a political football with the two major parties unable to see eye-to-eye on a compromise this year.