Border Patrol emails show Musk visit caught officers off guard
Source: NBC News
Border Patrol emails show Musk visit caught officers off guard
Officers said that they had received little warning before the visit.
Oct. 27, 2023, 12:17 PM EDT
By Ben Goggin
U.S. Border Patrol officials received no official requests and little warning ahead of Elon Musks highly publicized Sept. 28 visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to emails obtained by NBC News.
The emails, acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request, show government officials discussing and briefing each other on the visit, in which Musk appeared in a cowboy hat at the border site near Eagle Pass, Texas, with Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas. The two discussed immigration as Musk broadcast live video to the social platform X of a scene that included dozens of detained migrants.
The documents were provided in response to a request from NBC News specifically pertaining to Musks visit. Musks name appears to be redacted throughout the documents, but the emails match the dates of his trip to the site and his interactions with Gonzales. In one portion of the emails, an officer describes in detail an interaction that Musk appeared to livestream on X. Gonzales name was not redacted.
-snip-
Musk has become increasingly outspoken about U.S. political issues, and has repeatedly discussed immigration online. He has also become an outsize figure in Texas, where his companies have made major investments and purchased large swaths of land.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-border-visit-video-patrol-mexico-eagle-video-texas-rcna122382