September 13, 2018

Beto O’Rourke Fires Back at Trump’s Border Plan: “We Don’t Need a Wall”

The Democratic congressman is inching up on Ted Cruz in a tight Senate race.

Iris Schneider/Zumapress

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No one expected the Senate race in dependably-red Texas to be this close: Incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, according to recent polling, leads Democrat and three-term US congressman Beto O’Rourke by just a few points—despite Cruz’s attacks on O’Rourke’s nickname (his given name is Robert) and time in a punk rock band.

On Wednesday night, O’Rourke went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, for a conversation heavy on immigration. In stark contrast to his opponent, O’Rourke said he opposed Trump’s planned wall along the Mexican border. He said that Democrats shouldn’t agree to a wall in exchange for relief for Dreamers, and that DACA-recipients should be made citizens. You can watch the full clip below.

Rep. O’Rourke currently represents Texas’ 16th congressional district in Congress, which includes the border town of El Paso, where O’Rourke grew up and now lives. In a visit to El Paso last year, Sen. Cruz expressed his support for Trump’s proposed wall during a news conference held steps away from Mexico, after firing a pepper ball stun gun and riding a Border Patrol horse.

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