AOC skewers Elon Musk’s anti-immigrant stance with four-word tweet

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has called out tech billionaire Elon Musk for a baseless anti-immigration post.

Responding to a post from Mr Musk that claimed Democrats want to “import voters,” the progressive New York lawmaker pointed out an undeniable fact in response on Thursday.

“You’re literally an immigrant,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. Mr Musk was born and raised in South Africa — he moved to Canada in 1988 before migrating to the US.

“And for everyone saying ‘yeah, but legal!!’ may I once again remind you that seeking asylum is legal, too,” the lawmaker continued.

Mr Musk’s caption accompanied a headline from The Daily Caller — a right-wing media outlet — that read, “Biden Considering Granting Amnesty, Handing Out Green Cards to Illegal Immigrants.” The article cites reporting from Politico revealing the Biden administration may open up access to cancellation of removal — a process by which undocumented immigrants can become US citizens if they have lived in the country for more than ten years and have resident relatives who would suffer if they were deported.

Neither article made any reference to Mr Musk’s unfounded claim that Democrats are seeking to “import voters.”

This isn’t the first time Ms Ocasio-Cortez and Mr Musk have sparred on social media. Last September, the Tesla CEO responded to a video by Ms Ocasio-Cortez claiming more migrants entered the US through Ellis Island than were arriving illegally across the Rio Grande.

Mr Musk said, “She’s just not that smart,” and the Congresswoman was quick to respond.

“I wasn’t born rich and became the youngest woman in American history to be elected to Congress,” she wrote on X. “Then I investigated Cohen, authored the largest FEMA funeral assistance program in history and led creation of a US Climate Corps to create tens of thousands of new jobs.”

At the same time, Mr Musk was on a visit to the US-Mexico border accompanied by Republican congressman Tony Gonzalez.

“We are in this absurd situation where the vast majority of people are not in fact asylum seekers - you can actually read on Google in any language you want what are the magic words you need to say,” Mr Musk claimed.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez took another swing at the billionaire during his visit, criticising both him and Mr Gonzalez.

“The House is holding important votes in DC tonight, people are scrambling to avoid a shutdown, but this Republican Congressman decided to skip town to joyride with a billionaire when his own party has just a single-digit margin and needs his vote,” she wrote on X.

The Independent contacted Elon Musk for comment and received an auto-reply message in response: “Busy now, please check back later.”