Washington– Democratic presidential bid-on Beto O’Rourke was traveling Sunday to Mexico to meet with migrants who have been denied asylum in the United States and who were returned to Mexico at the border. On his first international trip as a pre-candidate, the former representative visited Ciudad Juarez, in Mexico, bordering his native El Paso, Texas, to meet with those he called
as “individuals and families directly affected by Donald Trump’s cruel and inhumane policies.”
O’Rourke said he hoped that his visit “will shed light on the desperate circumstances from which those seeking asylum and refuge flee, as well as the conditions these families and individuals are forced to endure after being rejected from our borders.” This includes meetings with individuals and organizations that provide care and assistance to immigrants in Mexico. O’Rourke said these people are victims of what he called an “illegal Trump administration program ‘Stay in Mexico,’ which has allowed the United States to return thousands of Central Americans to cities bordering Mexico while they wait response to their asylum applications.
It aims to reduce the attractiveness of current asylum applications in the United States, something that in the past allowed applicants to remain in the United States for years as their cases made their way through the courts. “Throughout the debate around immigration, we can’t forget who it affects the most: people who travel thousands of miles, fleeing the worst kind of violence and oppression,” O’Rourke said in a statement Saturday night. “Rejecting refugees, families and asylum seekers is not what makes us as a country, but as long as Donald Trump is president, he will be.” The former lawmaker also plans for Sunday a demonstration outside the Border Patrol Station in Clint, Texas, where according to media versions, minor immigrants have been denied basic items such as soap and toothbrushes. In a tweet, O’Rourke said on Saturday: “We can’t be this. America can’t be this.” He stated that it is the responsibility of the Americans to fix this situation. The Democratic pre-candidate has visited detention centers for immigrant juveniles in Florida and Houston.
