“No matter how many times Beto O’Rourke tries to reinvent himself, he can’t run from his support for open borders. Beto’s policies continue to align more with Joe Biden than the people of Texas, and his latest flip-flop demonstrates that he has a complete disregard for telling the truth.” – Mark Miner, Communications Director
NOW – O’Rourke Is Criticizing President Biden For Not Showing Leadership On The Border:
O’Rourke Is Criticizing President Biden’s Handling Of The Border, Calling For More “Predictability, Order And The Rule Of Law” And Deporting Illegal Immigrants. “In one of his first interviews as a candidate for governor, Democrat Beto O’Rourke sought to distance himself from President Joe Biden on the politically fraught issue of immigration, criticizing some of the new administration’s policies and calling for ‘order’ and ‘the rule of law’ at the border. … O’Rourke continued: ‘We’ve got to have predictability, order, and the rule of law and that means honoring our asylum laws when someone has a credible asylum claim. That also means, and this is not popular amongst all Democrats, but it means that when someone comes here and doesn’t have a credible asylum claim and has entered in between ports of entry, they should be deported back to the country from which they came.’” (Jasper Scherer, “Beto O’Rourke Criticizes Biden’s Immigration Policies On First Day Of Campaign For Governor,” Houston Chronicle, 11/16/21)
THEN – O’Rourke Supported Extreme Immigration Proposals Like Curbing Immigration Enforcement And Tearing Down The Border Wall:
O’Rourke Wants To Curtail Immigration Enforcement, “All But Eliminating Immigration Detention,” And Grant Citizenship To Illegal Immigrants Currently In The U.S. “O’Rourke’s plan focuses on curtailing immigration enforcement — in particular, all but eliminating immigration detention — and focusing instead on building up immigration courts and case management systems for newly arriving asylum seekers, while returning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests and deportations of immigrants already living in the US to the constraints of President Barack Obama’s last years in office. … But beyond the now-standard Democratic promise to pass a bill that allows the 11 million unauthorized immigrants currently in the US to apply for legal status and ultimately citizenship, and to expedite legalization and citizenship for DACA recipients and TPS recipients, there isn’t a complete bill framework here.” (Dara Lind, “Beto O’Rourke’s Immigration Plan Would Go Even Further On Executive Power Than Trump,” Vox, 5/31/19)
O’Rourke Said Building A Wall On The U.S.-Mexico Border Is “Racist.” “U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, on Friday attacked President Donald Trump’s immigration and trade plans as a threat to the North American economy and described the president’s reasoning for building a wall on the southern border as ‘racist.’” (Sean Collins Walsh, “Congressman Beto O’Rourke: Trump’s Wall Is ‘Racist’,” Austin American-Statesman, 1/27/17)
In 2019 “O’Rourke Said He Would Take Down Existing Walls And Fencing At The U.S.-Mexico Border If He Could.” “Beto O’Rourke said he would take down existing walls and fencing at the U.S.-Mexico border if he could. O’Rourke, a former congressman for El Paso who ran a high-profile challenge against GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, said in an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday, ‘Absolutely, I’d take the wall down.’” (Doha Madani, “’I’d Take The Wall Down,’ Says Beto O’Rourke Of Current Border Barriers,” NBC News, 2/14/19)
O’Rourke Opposes The “Remain In Mexico” Policy For Asylum Seekers. “Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Democratic candidate for president, denounced the Trump administration’s controversial ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy for asylum seekers, accusing the U.S. government of forcing desperate migrants into precarious situations in Mexico.” (Camilo Montoya-Galvez, “O’Rourke Says Trump’s ‘Remain In Mexico’ Policy Fuels ‘Suffering And Death’,” CBS News, 6/30/19)
O’Rourke Supports Driver’s Licenses For Illegal Immigrants. “During a stop in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday, 2020 Democratic POTUS candidate Beto O’Rourke told NHJournal that he supported yesterday’s vote by the Democrat-controlled N.H. House to give illegal immigrants access to Granite State drivers licenses.” (Michael Graham, “Beto in New Hampshire: ‘I Back Drivers Licenses for Illegals’,” Inside Sources, 3/21/19)