You wouldn’t think of someone like Elon Musk as an illegal immigrant, would you?
Most people will react to this story by attacking Musk’s hypocrisy or by defending his case as “different” from the “typical” undocumented immigrant. (And he has, indeed, made many false claims about immigrants.)
But the real story here is that the US immigration system is to blame for a ton of unauthorized immigration cases just like Musk’s—to OUR detriment.
Lots of people become “illegal” because our laws don’t have a legal category in which to put them—even when they are creating a lot of value for America by being in the country. That’s true for entrepreneurs like Musk, but also for countless workers in farms, factories, and construction sites. Not to mention family members and good human beings.
Putting politics aside, what would we have gained from deporting Elon Musk 25 years ago? And what do we gain by kicking out people doing essential work for whom there literally is no line to get into and become legalized?
My hope is that Musk’s high profile case of undocumented migration prompts us to get past the dumb politics and take a hard look at our ridiculous immigration laws.