Elon Musk to visit Eagle Pass; wants to ‘see what’s going on’ regarding migrant crossings

Elon Musk is planning a trip to Eagle Pass to “see what’s going on” for himself regarding the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, he announced Tuesday on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The tech billionaire posted that he spoke to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, about hundreds of migrants piling onto trains headed for the Eagle Pass. Gonzales confirmed the severity of the situation, Musk wrote.

“They are being overwhelmed by unprecedented numbers — just hit an all-time high and still growing!” he wrote, presumably about Eagle Pass.

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The border city has been under an intense spotlight in recent months. In July, crews installed a 1,000-foot barrier of buoys in a portion of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass as part of Gov. Greg Abbott’s border initiative. The buoys drew fierce scrutiny and brought national attention to the city.

More: 'They're going to find a way': Migrants navigate buoys, razor wire to enter Texas

Around the same time, Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas declared a city public park “private property” to allow Texas Department of Public Safety officials to arrest migrants in the park for trespassing, a move that also drew considerable criticism.

Salinas estimated 15,000 migrants have crossed into the U.S. through Eagle Pass since he signed a declaration of local disaster to address a surge of migrants on Sept. 19, the Eagle Pass Business Journal reported Tuesday.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Elon Musk to visit Eagle Pass amid reports of migrant surge