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Elon Musk retweeted an old status of Vice President Kamala Harris, on August 29, 2024, wherein she said that an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.
He responded to the tweet from April 2017, saying,
"this is an actual statement from Kamala."
Musk then went on to tweet about the Democratic Party's incentive of legalizing such persons in the country and also said, that's where they get their votes from. The tweet has since sparked debate online, reigniting feuds. Notably, an undocument immigrant is not a criminal in the US.
"The US Democratic Party as a whole has a massive incentive to bring in and legalize illegal immigrants, as they vote overwhelmingly Democrat. No grand conspiracy theory is needed", Musk commented.
In his tweet, Musk also contended that the Democratic Party is against deporting migrants, even in cases of criminal activity. He tweeted,
"The simple incentive of winning elections explains why they won’t even deport criminals who assault police officers on camera, because that would mean losing those votes."
Is being an undocumented immigrant a crime in the U.S.?
From a legal standpoint, the short answer is no. The long answer is that the simple act of residing in the U.S. without legal documentation is not, in itself, a crime, but there are stipulations to this. There are certain criminal offenses concerning immigration, such as illegal re-entry after deportation. However, it is important to note that the mere presence of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. does not render them criminals by default.
In fact, despite the belief that undocumented immigrants have no rights in the country, the 14th Amendment stipulates that all "persons" will be granted equal protection under the law, not just the citizens. This means that, should they be accused of a crime, even undocumented immigrants have the right to due process and legal representation.
It is also important to note that contrary to popular belief, the term "illegal alien" does not appear anywhere in federal immigration law. If anything, undocumented migrants, who have never been accused of a crime, are not dubbed "criminal aliens."
Musk dubbed "criminal" himself, X says Kamala "ate"
While this issue has been a longstanding hot topic in the U.S., Musk's comments have only added fuel to fire. While some agreed with him, some called him out and dubbed him a criminal himself.
"Please note that you were a criminal and should be sent back to your country of origin. It was ok for you, but now you pull the ladder up behind you. Typical Elon", one user tweeted.
"Oh no? I mean, they’re usually just families seeking a better life, and a lot of them are here on asylum claims that haven’t been processed, meaning they’re not criminals, even per US law," another user elucidated.
"she ate," one user tweeted.
Others backed him up, echoing similar sentiments.
"And now she wants to act like she is going to be “tough” on the border and “build the wall!” How could someone who thinks an illegal immigrant is not a criminal actually carry out those initiatives?" , one user questioned.
"100% of “undocumented immigrants” are criminals," another user declared.
Kamala Harris's 2017 tweet was followed by a series of comments, wherein she said, it's "ludicrous" to deport 12 million people. The logistics of it would make it impossible, and she said that this is "not a society that is going to stand for tearing families apart." She followed it up with her support to paving the way to citizenship for such people. According to her,
"vast majority of folks we’re talking about are living a lawful life and paying taxes."
Elon Musk, an immigrant himself, has been a staunch critic of the immigration policies under Biden's administration. He has called for more improvement in the system. In March 2024, he tweeted that the system should allow more "hard-working and honest" migrants. He also said that he has wrongly been dubbed “anti-immigrant,” and that "nothing could be further from the truth."
