Beto O'Rourke rallies in Texas kick off in El Paso, blocks from migrant families under bridge
Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign rally in El Paso, blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border, challenged President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
Beto O'Rourke rallies in Texas kick off in El Paso, blocks from migrant families under bridge Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign rally in El Paso, blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border, challenged President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Check out this story on ElPasoTimes.com: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2019/03/30/beto-orourke-rallies-texas-kick-off-el-paso-challenges-trump-border-immigration/3314197002/
Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times Published 11:45 a.m. MT March 30, 2019 | Updated 10:49 p.m. MT March 30, 2019
Beto O'Rourke Kicks Off His Presidential Campaign in El Paso
El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke officially kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday on El Paso Street in downtown El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Raelyn Maxwell cheers as El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke officially kicked off his presidential campaign March 30 on South El Paso Street in Downtown El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke hugs his wife Amy Sanders O'Rourke who introduced him at his presidential campaign kickoff in downtown El Paso Saturday. Their children Ulysses O'Rourke, Molly O'Rourke, Henry O'Rourke look on. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke was joined on stage by his wife, Amy, and children. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke officially kicked off his presidential campaign March 30 on South El Paso Street in Downtown El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke officially kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday on El Paso Street in downtown El Paso. His young supporter Sarah Armendariz, 1, awaits his arrival. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke officially kicked off his presidential campaign March 30 on South El Paso Street in Downtown El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times File Photo
Amy Sanders O'Rourke introduces her husband Beto O'Rourke as he officially kicks off his presidential campaign Saturday on El Paso Street in downtown El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke stood blocks from a makeshift shelter under a Downtown El Paso international bridge for his presidential campaign kickoff rally on Saturday and challenged President Donald Trump's immigration policies, saying the migrants held in the cramped outdoor space should be treated with dignity.
"Let's remember that every single one of us — including those who are just three or four blocks from here, detained under the international bridge that connects us with Mexico, behind chain-link fence and barbed wire — that they are our fellow human beings and deserve to be treated like our fellow human beings."
The scenes of migrant families, sitting on dirt with mylar blankets and surrounded by fencing and barbed wire, captured national attention this week when U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan visited El Paso and declared that the border had hit its "breaking point."
Migrants Being Housed Under the Paso Del Norte International Bridge in E...
Hundreds of migrants are being held beneath the Paso Del Norte International Bridge in El Paso as U.S. Customs and Border Protection has run out of space to process the asylum seekers. Above, two boys look out from the fence at the bridge as protestors demand their release. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
Hundreds of migrants are being held beneath the Paso del Norte International Bridge in El Paso as CBP has run out of space to process the asylum seekers. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Hundreds of migrants are being held beneath the Paso del Norte International Bridge in El Paso as CBP has run out of space to process the asylum seekers. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
Hundreds of migrants were held beneath the Paso Del Norte International Bridge in El Paso after CBP ran out of space to process the asylum seekers. They since have been moved. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
O'Rourke visited the makeshift shelter in El Paso the day before he officially launched his presidential bid with a rally on historic South El Paso Street, the multicultural shopping district linked to Mexico by an international bridge.
The location was fitting for a candidate who says he is focused on providing a more nuanced view of the border than the picture painted by Trump.
"El Paso, to me, represents America at its very best," O'Rourke told thousands of supporters who crunched between stores on the street that leads to Juárez, Mexico.
"For more than 100 years, this community has welcomed generations of immigrants from across the Rio Grande — some having traveled hundreds of miles, some having traveled thousands of miles — trying to escape brutality, violence and crushing poverty to find a better life for themselves and for their kids but also to contribute to our shared success and this country's greatness and they have."
El Paso rally one of three in Texas
About 6,000 people attended the campaign kickoff in El Paso, according to an estimate from the O'Rourke campaign. The El Paso Police Department had no estimate, a police spokesman said.
The rally was one of three that O'Rourke had in Texas on Saturday with one in Houston and another in Austin later that evening. The Houston event drew 10,500 people, according to O'Rourke's campaign.
O'Rourke entered and exited his rally to a track that will be familiar to those who followed his Senate campaign closely — "The Clampdown," by the Clash.
A former member of a punk rock band, O'Rourke has previously mentioned how important the Clash was to his development. He has a portrait of lead singer Joe Strummer hanging in his home opposite a portrait of Abraham Lincoln.
The 46-year-old presidential candidate moved about the stage, dressed in what has become his campaign uniform of a light-blue shirt, with the sleeves slightly rolled up. His wife, Amy Sanders O'Rourke, introduced her husband, and their three children came on the stage with their parents.
Escobar touts O'Rourke
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, who was elected in November to O'Rourke's congressional seat, told the rally crowd that O'Rourke is best qualified to confront the big challenges of this generation, including education, climate change, and creating "an economy that works for everyone" because he's from the "capital of the border."
Escobar said the border is at the center of the test to meet the big challenges of this generation.
"This is a moment in American history when our grandchildren will be reading about what has happened in our history books and they will be asking how did anyone let that happen," Escobar said.
"When they see the photographs from this week of families being corralled under a bridge, they are going to ask, how did we let that happen?" she said. "But I will tell you my friends, in that history book, there will be a chapter on the border and on El Paso. And that chapter will be written about how to deal with the greatest challenges of our generation with charity and goodwill and kindness. That's who we are."
El Paso GOP Holds Trump 2020 Rally Beside O'Rourke Rally
Members of the El Paso GOP held a Trump 2020 rally Saturday just north of where Beto O'Rourke was holding his presidential campaign kick off. Brian Kanof/Special to the El Paso Times
Counter-rally supports President Trump
A group of Trump supporters had a different view at their demonstration, which was organized by the El Paso County Republican Party, a couple of blocks away.
Bob Peña, one of the pro-Trump demonstrators, said he doesn't like things in O'Rourke's past, and credited Trump for the current good economy.
"This is the Trump economy," Peña said. "We have the highest stock market in history, the highest 401Ks, the highest pensions. It's all the highest it's ever been." he said.
Beto O'Rourke officially kicked off his 2020 campaign for president in his hometown of El Paso. He was headed to Houston and Austin in Texas later. Mark R Lambie, El Paso Times
O'Rourke, third in presidential poll, lays out policy goals at rally
O'Rourke's official campaign launch for the Democratic presidential nomination comes a little over two weeks after he announced he was running for president.
Since then, O'Rourke made a 10-day campaign trip to eight states. He raised more than $6 million in individual contributions in less than 24 hours after he announced his candidacy.
He also has risen to third-place in a recent national poll in the crowded Democratic Party's race for the presidential nomination — behind former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to announce his expected candidacy, and Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who lost to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries.
Towards the end of his speech on Saturday, O'Rourke shifted to Spanish, saying that in order to face the challenges of climate change, healthcare for all, and immigration reform, the country needs a democracy that can count on every vote and listen to every person.
O'Rourke said everyone should have the ability to be successful no matter their income, race or the amount of time their family has spent in or out of the United States.
"The success of this country depends on the success of every person in the United States," O'Rourke said. The crowd responded with chants of "si se puede, si se puede."
O'Rourke told his rally supporters that the country's wealth needs to benefit more people.
"That means that this extraordinary unprecedented concentration of wealth and power and privilege must be broken apart and opportunity must be shared," O'Rourke said as his father-in-law, wealthy El Paso businessman Bill Sanders, stood below the stage with other O'Rourke family members.
Photos of Beto O'Rourke of El Paso on the presidential campaign trail
Former El Paso U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke has his nose pinched by Emily Stillman, of Madison, N.H., during a campaign stop at Keene State College in Keene, N.H., on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
Former El Paso U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke smiles as Liz Stillman, of Madison, N.H. passes her daughter Emily to him during a campaign stop at a brewery in Conway, N.H., on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democratic presidential candidate, visits Keene State College in Keene, N.H., on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer
Killian Radel, 13, of Brookville, Pa., holds a candle with the likeness of Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke after getting the an autograph following a visit by the candidate to The Hub Robison Center on the Penn State campus in State College, Pa., Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
A campaign worker hold her mobile phone, adorned with a sticker of former El Paso U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, during a campaign stop at a restaurant in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke arrives for a campaign stop at a restaurant in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Charles Krupa/Associated Press
Former El Paso U.S. Rep. and Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke signs a placard after a visit to the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters on Monday, March 18, 2019 in Ferndale, Mich. Carlos Osorio/Associated Press
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke stands on a chair in the midst of a crowd of students in The Hub Robison Center on the Penn State campus in State College, Pa., on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press
O'Rourke lays out platform
O'Rourke was criticized for not having enough specific policy stands when he made his first, 10-day campaign trip to eight states after announcing his candidacy by video on social media March 14. At his hometown campaign launch, he laid out a laundry list of goals.
He reiterated his call for legalizing marijuana and expunging the records of those arrested for marijuana possession; and called for bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform. He promised to create a new voting rights act and advocated for providing debt-free college education for high school graduates. And he said climate warming had to be stopped by providing incentives to companies to capture carbon emissions and ending the country's dependence on oil and natural gas by investing in new technologies and renewable energy.
On foreign policy, O'Rourke said the United States needs to "re-establish our role on the world stage" and strengthen its historic friendships and alliances.
"Let's end these love affairs with dictators and strongmen all over the world," he said.
Beto O'Rourke makes his way through the crowd in El Paso after the rally Saturday morning to officially kick off his 2020 campaign for president. Vic Kolenc, El Paso Times
O'Rourke is the first El Paso politician to seek the nation's highest office and the only candidate in the race who lives on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Carlos Cobos, owner of the 34-year-old California Fashion, who had a ringside seat of the South El Paso Street rally, said he didn't care that the rally may have taken away some of his regular shoppers.
"We don't care. This is historic," Cobos said. "Someone running from El Paso is exciting for us and important in El Paso and Juárez, too."
But Marco Lozano, owner of 50-year-old Rio Bravo Fabrics, also in the rally area, said the event made it impossible for his customers to park near the store. He said he was losing business.
"I'm not a big Beto supporter. I hope he does well," Lozano said. If he became president, the notoriety would likely help El Paso and possibly boost tourism, he said.
See Beto's El Paso rally, scenes from counter-event
The crowd was ready for Beto O'Rourke just before the official rally to kick off his 2020 presidential campaign begin. MARK LAMBIE / EL PASO TIMES
El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke officially kicked off his Democratic Presidential campaign Saturday at El Paso Street in downtown El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke went through a litany of policy positions during his rally to kick off his 2020 presidential campaign. Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke takes the stage. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
Amy O'Rourke speaks. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
Amy O'Rourke takes the stage Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar takes the stage ahead of Beto O'Rourke at official kick off 2020 campaign rally. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
A young girl waved a flag, ready to vote ... in a few years. MARK LAMBIE / EL PASO TIMES
Ruben Perez said he voted for Beto O'Rourke for El Paso City Council. He came to the Downtown rally to see "the next president." Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
A police officer spoke to a Trump supporter near the Beto O'Rourke rally in Downtown El Paso. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
The crowd for Beto O'Rourke's rally fills several blocks shortly before the event is scheduled to begin. Bethany Freudenthal
Carlos Romero of Las Cruces was participating in the Sun City bike race a few blocks away, but he stopped to check in on the Beto O'Rourke rally before his 10:45 a.m. start time. Vic Kolenc
Signs abound as the crowd for Beto O'Rourke's rally fills several blocks shortly before the event is scheduled to begin. Bret Bloomquist
Every Beto O'Rourke supporter who wants to go to Starbucks in Downtown El Paso has to run this gauntlet. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
Several people attended a counter-rally to support President Donald Trump, just a block away from Beto O'Rourke's campaign event. MARK LAMBIE / EL PASO TIMES
Attendees continued to arrive about 15 minutes before the start of the Beto O'Rourke rally in El Paso to officially kick off his 2020 presidential campaign. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
She can't vote, but she's supporting Beto O'Rourke in 2020 Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
A group takes a selfie before the Beto O'Rourke rally in Downtown El Paso. Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
Mother and daughter Tanya and Imelda Aragon traveled from Albuquerque and Santa Fe to support presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke. Tanya Aragon said the current administration's treatment of migrants a crime against humanity. Bethany Freudenthal / El Paso Times
Counter-rally participants gathered ahead of the Beto O'Rourke event in Downtown El Paso. The El Paso Republican Party staged the event to support President Donald Trump a block from O'Rourke's event . Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
South El Paso store clerk Luci Montes has a Beto O'Rourke button at California Fashion store in Downtown El Paso. It's another business day for her as the Beto rally takes shape in front of her store. Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
The media focuses on a man with a Beto 2020 flag before Beto O'Rourke's campaign kickoff in Downtown El Paso. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
A counter-Beto rally sign at the GOP rally a block away. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
Chris Parra sells Beto flags, badges and hats just before the official 2020 campaign kickoff for Beto O'Rourke on South El Paso Street shopping district in Downtown El Paso. Vic Kolenc / El Paso Times
Supporters of President Donald Trump gathered blocks away from the Beto rally, about an hour before the start of both events. Bethany Brunelle Freudenthal / El Paso Times
Before 9 a.m., crowds had already begun to gather for the official campaign kickoff from Beto O'Rourke in El Paso. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
A member of the counter-rally near Beto O'Rourke's El Paso event waved a U.S. flag before the start of the events. Bret Bloomquist / El Paso Times
Participants in a counter-rally near Beto O'Rourke's El Paso event waved a U.S. flag before the start of the events. Bethany Brunelle Freudenthal / El Paso Times
About the 2020 campaign
O'Rourke's political star rose when he narrowly lost to Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last November, a race that demonstrated O'Rourke's fundraising magic by ringing up more than $80 million in campaign contributions without getting money from PACs (political action committees), corporations, or special-interest groups — something he plans to continue in his presidential quest.
In an email after his El Paso kick-off rally, O'Rourke's campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon asked supporters to help raise $1 million online by midnight Sunday, the campaign filing deadline.
Catch up Texas Senate race: Beto 2020: Key moments from the O'Rourke, Ted Cruz Senate race in Texas
O'Rourke, who traveled to all 254 counties in his run against Cruz, has already started touting his presidential road regime.
"El Paso, it was your story that I told all across Texas in every single one of those 254 counties," O'Rourke said.
Exclusive photos: Beto O'Rourke discusses run for president at his El Pa...
Democrat Beto O'Rourke, shown at his home in Sunset Heights in El Paso, officially entered the presidential race Thursday morning and immediately became the focus of Republican attacks. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke and his wife, Amy Sanders O'Rourke, at their El Paso home in the Sunset Heights neighborhood. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke at his home. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke at his home in El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke sits in his home's kitchen alongside his wife, Amy Sanders O'Rourke, on March 12 in his Sunset Heights home in El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times File Photo
Beto O'Rourke and his wife Amy Sanders O'Rourke at their El Paso home in the Sunset Heights neighborhood of El Paso. Mark Lambie / El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke and Amy Sanders O'Rourke at their home in El Paso. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke at his home in El Paso. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke is shown at his home in El Paso. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
Beto O'Rourke sits beside his wife, Amy. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
El Pasoan Beto O'Rourke sits in the living room of his Sunset Heights home. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
Democrat Beto O'Rourke, shown at his home in Sunset Heights in El Paso, officially entered the presidential race Thursday morning. Mark Lambie/El Paso Times
He drove 2,366 miles and held 51 events in 35 counties in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, where he answered 357 questions from voters, in his first 10 days on the presidential campaign trail, according to his campaign.
"I'm going to continue to demonstrate that everyone in every state is important to the future of this country. And no one can be written off or taken for granted based on where they live or how they voted in the past, or whether they voted at all," O'Rourke told the El Paso Times in an interview two days before he announced his candidacy.
"I just want to serve this country so badly to the highest of my ability, and I believe that is serving as president of the United States," O'Rourke told the Times.
El Paso Times reporter Bret Bloomquist contributed to this story.
Get local news that matters to you: Keep up with Beto O'Rourke and the 2020 presidential race with updates and unlimited access to El Paso news by becoming an El Paso Times subscriber for less than $1 a month.
PHOTOS: Beto O'Rourke, Democratic presidential candidate, stands on things
Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks from the roof of his car to an overflow crowd at a campaign stop at a coffee shop Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) John Locher, AP
Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks at a campaign stop at a coffee shop Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) John Locher, AP
Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke rests his foot on a picnic table as he listens to a question during a campaign stop at a brewery in Conway, N.H., Wednesday, March 20, 2019. O'Rourke announced last week that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) Charles Krupa, AP
MOUNT VERNON, IOWA - MARCH 15: Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke answers questions from voters during his second day of campaigning for the 2020 nomination at The Sing-A-Long Bar and Grill March 15, 2019 in Mount Vernon, Iowa. After losing a long-shot race for U.S. Senate to Ted Cruz (R-TX), the 46-year-old O'Rourke is making his first campaign swing through Iowa after jumping into a crowded Democratic field this week. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Beto O'Rourke speaks at Beancounter in Burlington, Iowa Brianne Pfannenstiel
Former El Paso U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks to residents during a meet-and-greet at the Beancounter Coffeehouse & Drinkery on Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Burlington, Iowa. O'Rourke announced Thursday that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press
MUSCATINE, IOWA - MARCH 14: Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is seen through the front window of Randy Naber's home as he answers voters' questions during O'Rourke's first day of campaigning for the 2020 nomination March 14, 2019 in Muscatine, Iowa. After losing a long-shot race for U.S. Senate to Ted Cruz (R-TX), the 46-year-old O'Rourke announced his bid for the presidency on a video message earlier in the day. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images
Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke speaks to local residents during a meet and greet at the Beancounter Coffeehouse & Drinkery, Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Burlington, Iowa. O'Rourke announced Thursday that he'll seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Charlie Neibergall, AP
Presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke stands in a truck bed while speaking to a Waterloo crowd Saturday afternoon. He later knocked on doors with state Senate candidate Eric Giddens. Austin Cannon/The Register
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks to a crowd on a downtown Waterloo street corner Saturday. He stopped to campaign for state Senate candidate Eric Giddens. Austin Cannon/The Register
Beto O'Rourke, Democratic candidate for president, speaks to an at-capacity crowd inside the Sing-A-Long Bar and Grill on Friday, March 15, 2019, in Mount Vernon. This is O'Rourke's first trip to Iowa after announcing his campaign. Kelsey Kremer/The Register
Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke visits Cargo Coffee on East Washington Avenue during a stop in Madison, Wis., Sunday, March 17, 2019 and stood on a chair. (Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP) Amber Arnold, AP
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter
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