REUTERS/Daniel Becerril Acquire Licensing RightsEAGLE PASS, Texas, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Billionaire Elon Musk waded into the U.S. immigration debate on Thursday, paying a visit to the Texas border with Mexico to meet with local politicians and law enforcement and obtain what he called an "unfiltered" view of the situation. The sharp increase, notably around San Diego, California, and the Texas border towns of El Paso and Eagle Pass, follows an earlier lull in unauthorized border crossings following a new asylum policy imposed by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration to discourage such activity. Musk, a native of South Africa, noted his own status as an "immigrant to the United States" and called himself "extremely pro-immigrant." In the 4-minute video clip, he introduced U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican from Texas whose district spans more than 800 miles of the border, who welcomed Musk and said people along the Texas border "really feel abandoned." Reporting by Brian Synder in Eagle Pass, Texas; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Scott Malone and Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: Elon Musk, Daniel Becerril, Billionaire Elon, Musk's, Joe Biden's, Musk, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's, Benjamin Netanyahu, Tony Gonzales, Brian Synder, Steve Gorman, Scott Malone, Michael Perry Organizations: Elon, SpaceX, Tesla, REUTERS, PASS, Billionaire, Democratic, Texas National Guard, Florida Governor, Republican, Twitter, Russia, Space X, Texas Gulf, Thomson Locations: Rio, Eagle, , Texas, U.S, Piedras Negras, Mexico, Texas, Texas , Arizona, California, United States, San Diego , California, El Paso, Rio Grande, South Africa, Gigafactory Texas, Austin, Texas Gulf Coast, Boca Chica, Brownsville, Eagle Pass , Texas, Los Angeles