Migrant Surge Draws Elon Musk Visit to Eagle Pass to Review Crisis at Rio Grande
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2023
The continuous influx of undocumented migrants across the United States-Mexico border, particularly at the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas and its sister city, Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, drew the interest of the world’s billionaire, Elon Musk, to personally visit the border at Eagle Pass’s Shelby Park, a city-owned public park, and the City of Eagle Pass Camino Real International Bridge (Bridge II) along the Rio Grande to review and analyze the phenomenon plaguing the border on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
Since Sunday, September 17, 2023 to Musk’s visit on September 28th, an estimated 25,000 migrants have crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States, mostly seeking asylum in the United States from their home countries throughout Central America, South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Africa, and many other countries throughout the world, according to Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr.
Musk and his detailed security team arrived by corporate jet at the Maverick County International Memorial Airport during mid-afternoon on September 28th where they were welcomed by Mayor Rolando Salinas, Jr., city representatives, and U. S. House of Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX 23) among tight security. Musk and his team were whisked away in a heavily fortified security vehicle caravan to Camino Real International Bridge and Shelby Park area. A briefing was provided to Musk and his team by federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities concerning the current status of the large migrant influx at Eagle Pass.
City representatives and multiple law enforcement agencies provided a walk through tour of the premises and the stream of migrants continuing to cross into the United States from Mexico by wading across the treacherous Rio Grande.
Musk live-streamed part of his visit to Eagle Pass to provide followers an “unfiltered” view of the migrant crisis developing at the southern border. Musk, originally from South Africa, immigrated to the United States where he has developed a world-class titan network of businesses, including TESLA, Space X, Star Link, and others, noted that he was pro-immigrant and called for an expedited immigration process be implemented by the United States, requiring migrants to provide evidence of their asylum claims expeditiously at the border.
After about one and a half hour visit at Eagle Pass, Musk and his team departed the Rio Grande and Eagle Pass facilities to return home.
Musk visit to Eagle Pass caused great interest among politicians and City of Eagle Pass officials, hoping he can offer a viable solution to the surging migrant crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border.
