O’Rourke among Dems critical of border plan
Add Beto O’Rourke to the list of Democrats who disagree with how President Joe Biden is addressing the surge of migrants crossing the U.S. border.
“I’m sure this is well-intentioned, knowing the president, knowing the people who are advising him. But I don’t think this is the right solution,” O’Rourke said on a podcast hosted by former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod.
O’Rourke was reacting to the Biden administration’s new program that directs thousands of migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. to a phone app to get an appointment. If they don’t use the app and try to enter the U.S. to claim asylum, they are denied and sent back.
“I don’t think this is the right answer,” said O’Rourke, who in November suffered a double-digit loss in his campaign for governor.
He said many of the people trying to make asylum claims are coming from dangerous circumstances and don’t feel they can safely remain in their home country — or in countries along the way — to make their claim for asylum.
He said people should be allowed to make their claims on U.S. soil and the government should instead make the review process work faster by hiring more immigration judges and putting more resources at the border to process asylum claims.
O’Rourke said the Biden administration should do more work with Central and South America to address what is causing people to flee.
“I wish this was more of a foreign policy priority for the Biden administration,” he said.
He said the hemisphere is desperate for attention, though he understands the Biden administration has a lot on its plate since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago.
But despite the criticism, O’Rourke said the last two years have proven that Biden was the best possible candidate for the country.
“I’m grateful for the fact that Joe Biden is the president of the United States right now,” O’Rourke said.