Texas governor hopeful Beto O'Rourke criticizes Biden on immigration
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[November 22, 2021]
By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) - Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic
former U.S. congressman who is running for governor of Texas, on Sunday
criticized President Joe Biden for a lack of urgency on pursuing a
revamp of immigration laws, indicating he will distance himself from the
White House in his underdog campaign.
O'Rourke announced last Monday he will seek to unseat Republican
Governor Greg Abbott in next year's election, aiming to become the first
Democrat to win a statewide race in Texas, the second most populous U.S.
state, in three decades.
"I do not think we have seen enough urgency when it comes to rewriting
our immigration laws to match the needs and the reality that we see,
especially in our border communities," O'Rourke told CNN's "State of the
Union" program on Sunday. "So, yes, we expect more of our president and
those who represent us in Congress."
The Democratic president has made other issues such as infrastructure,
social spending and COVID-19 relief higher legislative priorities than
immigration reform. Democrats narrowly control Congress.
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O'Rourke also took aim at Abbott, saying the governor is "using the
border right now as a photo opportunity, scapegoating and vilifying
immigrants, asking Texans to, quote, 'defend themselves' and take
matters into their own hands from this 'invasion,' as he describes it."
Biden has faced criticism from Democrats and Republicans over
immigration and border issues. Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border have
reached record levels in recent months.
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![](../images/112221pics/news_h15.jpg)
Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. congressman
Beto O'Rourke speaks to attendees as he kicks off his campaign in
McAllen, Texas, U.S. November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Veronica G.
Cardenas/File Photo
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Asked whether he would welcome Biden to Texas to help
him campaign, O'Rourke suggested he would not, saying: "This
campaign in Texas is not going to be about Joe Biden. It's not going
to be about Donald Trump. It's not going to be about anyone from
outside of our state."
Trump, known for a hardline approach on immigration, last year
defeated Biden in Texas while losing the presidential election
nationally.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Biden have pledged
to create a working group on arms trafficking and related
transborder crime and border security, the White House said on
Friday.
Biden has kept in place a controversial order, first implemented by
his Republican predecessor Trump last year, that allows migrants to
be immediately expelled without an opportunity to seek asylum in
light of the pandemic.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Will Dunham)
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