Elon Musk Is Offering To Help Kids Detained At The US Border

Elon Musk has waded into the ongoing political controversy about family separations, offering to help children stranded at the US-Mexico border.

Musk initially tweeted a link to the song 'Shelter' by British pop group The xx, along with the caption: "I hope the kids are ok."

A fellow Twitter user pressed him, asking "Could you just make a more powerful statement? It's a heartbreaking issue and your words and actions could matter more than a tweet".

He replied:

Another user asked him to donate to RAICES Texas, an organisation that helps with legal defences for immigrants to the United States, or to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), one of the biggest pro-civil rights groups in the US.

Musk replied that he is already one of the biggest donors to the ACLU, with the group tweeting him back, writing: "Thank you for being one of the biggest supporters of the ACLU. Really appreciate your backing us over the years."

The ACLU are leading the opposition to the separation of families at the US border, with a petition to the Secretary of Homeland Security that reads: "Stop separating children from their parents in immigration detention. This practice is inhumane, unnecessary, and unconstitutional."

They are also suing the government in the hope that a federal judge will stop family separations via a court order.

Family separation is currently a huge issue in the United States, where children have been taken away from their parents as a consequence of the Trump government's 'zero tolerance' policy on illegal immigration.

Parents who are found to have crossed the border illegally with their children are arrested, but because the children themselves have not committed a crime, they are not allowed to stay with the parents.

PA

Children have therefore been taken away and held in detention centres, where they have been photographed sleeping on floors and held in cages. It is thought that somewhere in the region of 2,000 children are currently in these centres.

The family separation issue has provoked huge criticism of Donald Trump and his immigration crackdown, even from those who are generally on his side with regards to the issue.

Trump has signed an executive order to end the policy that he implemented previously, but the actual effect on the ground remains to be seen.

Topics: elon musk, US News, Immigration

Mike Wood

Mike Meehall Wood is a freelance journalist and translator. He writes for LADbible, VICE and countless sports publications, focusing on rugby league, football and boxing. He is a graduate of Leeds University and maintains a fizzy pop obsession. Contact Mike at [email protected]