Outgoing Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) on Friday linked the border wall to an increase in migrant deaths for those trying to cross from Mexico into the United States.

O’Rourke, who represents El Paso in Congress until next month, said the stretch of wall near the city has caused migrants to attempt different routes into the U.S., some more dangerous.

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"The number of people dying at the U.S.-Mexico border in some years has grown, and in some years has grown because it's connected to that wall that we have already built that pushes people who are at their most desperate and vulnerable to ever-more inhospitable stretches of the Chihuahua Desert," he said, according to the Washington Examiner.

"The wall in this area was built in 2006, 2007 and 2008," he said. "So even though total crossing attempts had decreased, the number of deaths went up.

O'Rourke noted that there were 365 deaths at the southwest border in fiscal 2010, compared to 263 in 1998, citing statistics from the U.S. Border Patrol.

O'Rourke has joined other Democrats in fiercely opposing President Trump's push to establish a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as for billions of dollars in funding to build the wall in an end-of-year government funding bill.

His comments come after reports emerged Thursday night of a 7-year-old girl's death while in the custody of Customs and Border Protection, sparking backlash.

The young girl from Guatemala died from dehydration and shock hours after crossing the border and being detained by Border Patrol.

O'Rourke, a two-term Democratic congressman, lost his Senate race last month to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzCruz blocks amended resolution honoring Ginsburg over language about her dying wish Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes Press: Notorious RBG vs Notorious GOP MORE (R-Texas) by less than 3 points in the deep-red state.

At the same town hall event Friday, O’Rourke was reportedly mum regarding speculation of a potential 2020 presidential run.

“No decision. No decision on that,” he told The Associated Press.