Beto back in Brownsville

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke spoke against President Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship during a rally Thursday in Brownsville.

About 500 people attended the “Brownsville with Beto!” rally that took place at the Ringgold Civic Pavilion in Dean Porter Park.

In a news conference before the rally, O’Rourke addressed the U.S. troops being sent to the border.

“We know that those who are coming to our country increasingly are kids–if they’re lucky kids, with their parents,” he said. “No wall, no troops [are] gonna defend against that level of desperation and misery. What we need to do is make sure that we address the issues with those governments and those people in those countries, so that no one has to leave with their kid and risk that journey.”

After the rally, Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez called for unity.

“I think, right now, what this country needs is unity and not division and, unfortunately, that’s what’s being sold in Washington, and I think my frustration probably comes out of this,” Martinez said. “It’s the misinformation about the need of troops.

“These folks are a thousand miles away. They’re mommas and they’re poppas and they’re babies and they’re children, and they’re being characterized as … terrorists and strong young men, all of which is totally false.”

O’Rourke and Libertarian Neal Dikeman are challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who has been in office since 2013.

The Democrat addressed President Trump’s recent announcement about his plan to end birthright citizenship through executive order.

“We need to follow the laws of this country,” O’Rourke said in Spanish. “Those who were born here have citizenship. We can’t change that and especially not a president. He can’t change that without an act of Congress, a bill, without the support of the states and the people who live in the states.”

According to O’Rourke, 17,000 people voted in the first 10 days of the 2014 midterm elections in Cameron County. In this year’s midterm elections, there were 45,000 people who voted in the first 10 days.

The Texas Tribune (texastribune.org) reported the figures, noting that “turnout is calculated by dividing the total number of voters by the number of registered voters.”

Freshman Isabella Cardenas attended the rally and said she benefited from the polling station at UTRGV, because she quickly went to vote in between classes.

Jose Lozano, an art senior, said the polling stations on both UTRGV campuses were packed and voting is being talked about.

“The word is around [campus] to go vote and I feel like everybody is going to go vote,” Lozano said. “So, I feel like it is really improving.”

Asked about voting at UTRGV, Felipe Diaz, a biology junior, said there has been a push to get people to vote.

“I think there’s a movement with the younger generation,” Diaz said.

O’Rourke encouraged the public to not only vote, but also spread the word to other people.

“If you have already voted, [it is] absolutely imperative that you get every family member, every classmate, every colleague, everyone in your life. … Now is the time to reach out and invite them in to the elections of our lifetime,” he said