Rep. O’Rourke talks immigration, DACA and guns at town hall
U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke talked immigration reform, his plan for DACA recipients and gun control during a town hall Monday in his home district.
O’Rourke, (D) El Paso, also commented on a tweet from President Donald Trump this week, in which he said that Honduras and Mexico are among the countries that “send many of their people to our country through our WEAK IMMIGRATION POLICIES. … Democrats allow open borders, drugs and crime!”
“So many millions of Americans owe their presence in this country to the fact that their forefathers and foremothers were asylum seekers or refugees,” O’Rourke told ABC-7.
O’Rourke laid out his plan for the so-called Dreamers — those who came to the U.S. illegally as children and are protected from deportation — during his town hall.
“I want to make sure that we honor that history, our heritage and our laws, and give these people a chance to make the petition for asylum. If it’s granted they’re able to stay here. If not, they’re back to their country of origin.”
The congressman said he is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan DREAM Act currently being debated in Washington, D.C.
“We just need an opportunity to vote on it, so pressure from the American public to hold those who are representing them accountable is what is going to take for us to move forward,” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke also discussed topics like the gun reform debate, saying he supports universal background checks, banning assault weapons and funding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study gun violence as a public health issue.
