O’Rourke talks border during Instagram video at dentist

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) recorded his trip to the dentist on Thursday to showcase his hygienist’s experiences growing up near the southern border. 

“So I’m here at the dentist and we’re going to continue our series on the people of the border,” O’Rourke says in a video posted on Instagram as he receives a dental cleaning. 

{mosads}O’Rourke, who represented a district in El Paso, then flips the camera in the direction of his hygienist, Diana, who recounts her time growing up near the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Diana, wearing goggles and a mask over her face, said she was born in El Paso and that her father was a U.S. citizen. She added that her mother was born in a small town in Mexico and that she herself was a permanent resident in the U.S. while studying for her American citizenship. 

She said people in the area were extremely helpful during her time studying for her citizenship, and that “the entire neighborhood was there when she passed her citizenship test.”

“It was wonderful,” she said, before saying that she wants other Americans to realize that the region near the border is  “a beautiful community.”

“We all support each other, we love each other. It’s not what everyone else thinks.”

The interview from O’Rourke is part of a series of videos he has posted online interviewing people who live near the southern border. 

O’Rourke, who became a rising Democratic star in his bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last year, has denounced President Trump’s rhetoric on immigration. He said earlier this week that the U.S.-Mexico border was “one of the safest places” in the U.S. 

His comments came as Trump is sticking with his request for $5.7 billion to build a steel barrier along the southern border, which Democrats oppose. The standoff led to a partial government shutdown that is nearing its fourth week.