Indian-origin US entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who was a presidential hopeful on a Republican ticket until he pulled his nomination to support former President Donald Trump, has suggested a fix for the country's "immigration problem".
In a post on X, Ramaswamy wrote, “Shut down the entitlement state & you solve most of the immigration problem right there. We need to man up & fix the root cause that draws migrants here in the first place: the welfare state. But no one seems to want to say that part out loud, because too many native-born Americans are addicted to it themselves.”
Responding to the tweet, X owner and tech mogul Elon Musk said, “What Vivek says is, of course, true.” He added that the "'social safety net' of state & federal government payments is a powerful magnet for anyone living below that standard... to move to the United States”.
"Couple that with open borders and obviously vast numbers of people will move here. It would be absurd to expect any other outcome," he said.
Ramaswamy, 39, who was born to immigrant parents from southern India, has been known to take a stern stand on illegal immigration, which has emerged as an emotive issue in many Western countries.
In April, he emphasised the need to follow "the rule of law”, and urged the use of the military to secure the border. He has also spoken out against "birthright citizenship", or the provision that allows children born in the US to get citizenship irrespective of their parents' citizenship.