Former presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke claimed Sunday that El Paso, Texas is one of the nation’s safest cities because it’s “a city of immigrants” as he rebuked former President Donald Trump.
“El Paso, Texas, where I’m from has consistently been one of the safest cities in America, if not the safest city in America,” O’Rourke said during a guest spot on MSNBC’s “Inside With Jen Psaki.”
“And that is not in spite of the fact that we are a city of immigrants. I would argue it is because we are a city of immigrants.”
An analysis late last year from MoneyGeek ranked El Paso as the fifth safest largest city in the US.
The comments come after Trump visited El Paso last week as President Joe Biden made a border visit of his own, roughly 325 miles away in Brownsville.
Trump blasted the border crisis, likening the ordeal to a “war,” harping on the flood of migrants pouring across the border and laying blame on the Biden administration.
“This is a Biden invasion over the past three years,” Trump said. “I call him Crooked Joe because he’s crooked. He’s a terrible president and the worst president our country has ever had.”
O’Rourke, who represented Texas’ 16th Congressional District which comprises most of El Paso from 2013 to 2019, argued that immigration has been a core component of US success.
“We are a country of immigrants. We are the most powerful, the most successful place on the planet. And it has a lot to do with those who come here from all over the world to do better for themselves,” O’Rourke said.
“We will only remain the most successful country on the planet by ensuring that we have more immigrants coming here.”
Critics of Biden’s border policies have slammed the influx of illegal immigrants and migrants seeking asylum that have overburdened US agencies.
In January, there were an estimated 176,205 migrant encounters at the US-Mexico border, down from the record 301,9983 encounters in December, according to US Customs and Border Patrol figures.
O’Rourke accused Trump of blowing up a bipartisan Senate deal to tackle the border as a poilitical move.
The Lone Star Democrat made a name for himself when he challenged Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018 and came within striking distance. He then mounted an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2020.
Recently, O’Rourke needled his old 2020 Democratic primary foe Biden over his handling of the war in Israel, appearing to express support for the “uncommitted” campaign in Michigan ahead of the Feb. 27 primary.
Over 100,000, or one in eight voters, went “uncommitted” in the primary, marking the culmination of a protest vote by Arab and Muslim votes in the state.
Michigan has the largest Arab community of any state in the country.
