Beto O`Rourke on Immigration Democratic candidate for President; Texas Senator nominee

Why do we check for HIV at the border and no other diseases?

O'ROURKE: You're right that there is discrimination against our fellow Americans, as well as discrimination against those who are coming to this country. I think about asylum seekers, families who are separated based on the HIV status of a single family member. We don't do that for families who come here with the flu or other health care challenges right now in this country. We've singled out a population in America. And end the discrimination against those who have HIV in America today.

Don't turn away asylum seekers who return home to face death

O'ROURKE: We no longer recognize this as a valid claim for asylum, though we know that when we turn people back to their country of origin, where they face persecution, they often face certain death. We've got to make sure that we welcome all those who have literally no other place to go to and retake our place as the indispensable country in the world again, setting the moral example so we can exert the moral leadership across the world and make this a cornerstone of our foreign policy. In fact, I'm going to have a full-time person in the State Department who works with other countries to advocate for the full human rights of their citizens, as well. But we won't wait on those countries to change. If someone needs to come here to seek shelter or asylum or refuge, we are going to welcome them now.

Legalize DREAMers and their families

Grant refuge to those severely impacted by climate change

People who come here must follow our laws

Keep asylum laws; let refugees apply from home countries

End family separation; rewrite law from ground up

Asylum seekers should be able to apply from home countries

Asylum-seekers are fleeing deadliest countries in the world

O'ROURKE: We would not build walls. We would not put kids in cages. In fact, we would spare no expense to reunite the families that have been separated already. And we would not criminally prosecute any family who is fleeing violence and persecution. We would not detain any family fleeing violence, in fact, fleeing the deadliest countries on the face of the planet today. We would implement a family case management program so they could be cared for in the community at a fraction of the cost. And then we would rewrite our immigration laws in our own image, free Dreamers forever from any fear of deportation by making them U.S. citizens here in this country, invest in solutions in Central America, work with regional stakeholders so there's no reason to make that 2,000 mile journey to this country.

Military service as pathway to citizenship for immigrants

Most immigrants pose no danger, but keep illegal entry law

O'Rourke: I don't know if it should be repealed, but I think that we should acknowledge that most of those who are arriving at our border are at their most desperate and vulnerable moment. They pose no threat or harm to this country. In the vast majority of cases, there's no need to incarcerate migrant families, and especially children. But if somebody is attempting to smuggle human beings [or] illegal drugs into this country, I want to make sure that we have the legal mechanism necessary to hold them accountable and to detain them.

Q: You don't think that it should be repealed?

O'Rourke: I do not think that it should be repealed.

Do not repeal law: keep illegal border crossings a crime

O'ROURKE: I don't know if it should be repealed, but I think that we should acknowledge that most of those who are arriving at our border right now pose no threat or harm to this country. In the vast majority of cases, there's no need to incarcerate or to detain migrant families, and especially children. But if somebody is attempting to smuggle human beings [or] illegal drugs into this country, I want to make sure that we have the legal mechanism necessary to detain them.

Q: But you disagree with Julian Castro; you don't think that it should be repealed?

O'ROURKE: Yes, I have answered the question. I do not think that it should be repealed.

Treat asylum seekers with respect; repair home countries

Immediately undo Trump actions; work with Congress

Expedite citizenship process for legal residents & DREAMers

Those seeking asylum pose no threat

Against border wall; against criminalizing asylum seekers

Stop refugee issue by dealing with what's driving them here

Condemns President Trump's wall; "Walls end lives"

Path to citizenship for all DREAMers

• During his six years in Congress, O'Rourke represented a border area in Texas.
• He believes the border is secure, and would give legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants in the country now.
• He has said he would like so-called "Dreamers," who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, to get citizenship "today."
• O'Rourke says he is "open" to the idea of abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, so long as there is a plan to transfer the agency's core responsibilities elsewhere.

Raise cap on work visas; find pathway to citizenship

End separating kids; make DREAMers citizens

Opposes "open borders," but new wall unnecessary

DREAMers are as American as my kids

Ted Cruz (R): No. End DACA. No path to citizenship to Dreamers or anyone else who violates immigration laws.

Beto O'Rourke (D): Protect Dreamers. "As American as my kids. & have done everything we've asked of them." Supports earned path to citizenship for millions here illegally.

End the inhumane & un-American practice of family separation

O'ROURKE: It is a mix of kids who made that 2,000-mile journey on their own and kids who made that journey with their parents. And, at the moment that they finally thought they had reached safety, and were going to petition for asylum, they were taken from their parents.

Q: What do you say to that argument, that this is all about deterrence?

O'ROURKE: Things have to be really bad for you to leave Honduras, travel 2,000 miles, and hope that once you get here to try to request asylum, only to find that your child will be taken from you. This is inhumane. I would like to say it is un-American, but it's happening right now in America. And that is why we are marching to Tornillo today to bear witness, to make sure everyone in America knows that this is going on. I am working with my colleagues to end the practice of family separation.

No 2,000-mile, 30-foot-high, $30 billion wall

O'ROURKE: I think this one is going to be on the American people. And I think, when we make the choice clear that we can do the right thing by this country and for those kids, and not do it at the price of a 2,000-mile, 30-foot-high, $30 billion wall, not doing it at the price of deporting people who are seeking asylum, deporting people in some cases back to certain death, not doing it at the cost of ending family migration, which is the story of this country, certainly of the O'Rourkes, and millions of families who have fled terror or starvation in their countries to be here, I think the American people are going to force us to do the right thing. That always happens in America. It is frustrating. It's slow. It doesn't happen right away. But, ultimately, we get it right. And I'm confident that the American people this time are going to get it right.

Support the DREAM Act and comprehensive reform

• Support the DREAM Act: A humanitarian and economically sound bill to pass for our country as a whole, the DREAM Act provides a path to citizenship for a generation of young people who were brought here as children and only know life in the U.S.
• Comprehensive Immigration Reform: allowing a more flexible visa system that accurately adjusts to our economic and market conditions. Most importantly, I will work to ensure that the people of El Paso, the ones actually living on the border and dealing with the implementations of immigration & border security policies passed in Washington, have a voice in this very important discussion.
• Through immigration reform, we can empower immigrants to come to the U.S. legally, discourage the abuse of the visa system, encourage employers to hire legally documented workers, enrich the American presence in the global economy and reduce the exploitation and discrimination of foreign workers.

Opposes exiting US to apply for citizenship.

Project Vote Smart infers candidate issue stances on key topics by summarizing public speeches and public statements. Congressional candidates are given the opportunity to respond in detail; about 11% did so in the 2012 races.

Project Vote Smart summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: 'Immigration: Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?'

Voted to legalize DREAMer immigrants via military service.

Congressional Summary: The House voted on an amendment by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) to H.R. 5293, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2017. The amendment would prohibit funds from being used to extend the expiration of, or reissue a new expiration date to, the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program.

Recommendation by Heritage Foundation to vote YES:(6/16/2016): The MAVNI program is a pilot program authorizing "military services to recruit certain legal immigrants whose skills are considered to be vital to the national interest." However, a DoD memo has made it clear that DACA/DAPA recipients are eligible under this program, essentially opening up a pathway to amnesty for illegal aliens who enlist. By ensuring that this guidance ends, DOD will no longer be able to enlist illegal immigrants through MAVNI.

Recommendation by the ACLU to vote NO: (6/28/2011): The DREAM Act promotes fundamental fairness for young people by allowing access to affordable post-secondary education and military service opportunities, regardless of immigration status, and would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, have lived here for at least five years and have graduated from high school. The DREAM Act could result in billions of dollars in additional tax revenue from tapping the potential of DREAM-eligible students and future service personnel. Since September 11, 2001, more than 69,000 immigrants have earned citizenship while serving, and more than 125 who entered military service after that date have made the ultimate sacrifice in war by giving their lives for this nation.

Legislative outcome: Failed House 210 to 211 (no Senate vote)

Opposes more border security, according to CC survey.

The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Increase Border Security Including Additional Infrastructures ' Christian Coalition's self-description: "Christian Voter Guide is a clearing-house for traditional, pro-family voter guides. We do not create voter guides, nor do we interview or endorse candidates."