Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke Beto O'RourkeJimmy Carter says his son smoked pot with Willie Nelson on White House roof O'Rourke endorses Kennedy for Senate: 'A champion for the values we're most proud of' 2020 Democrats do convention Zoom call MORE (D-Texas) on Monday joined a counterprotest in El Paso, Texas, opposing a rally where President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE is expected to promote border walls.

Photos of the demonstration showed hundreds of protesters making their way through El Paso in the hours before Trump's rally in the border city. Some protesters repeatedly chanted "build bridges, not walls" as they marched along the border fence separating El Paso from Ciudad Juárez.

Participants in #MarchForTruth chant “build bridges, not walls” as they march under freeway overpass and along the border fence separating El Paso from Ciudad Juarez pic.twitter.com/1lBhGyWTde — Rafael Carranza (@RafaelCarranza) February 12, 2019

Amazing sight in El Paso tonight as thousands of people march, in the shadow of the border fence, to protest @realDonaldTrump & celebrate this city. pic.twitter.com/QTic3zy7ih — Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) February 12, 2019

Some very polite protesters here. pic.twitter.com/is88pmonqT — Eric Bradner (@ericbradner) February 12, 2019

Estimating crowd sizes is a miserable business but I’d guess a few thousand folks here so far. pic.twitter.com/zDLJi6Mm0S — Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) February 12, 2019

Many demonstrators held signs condemning Trump's rhetoric on immigration. One read, "Trump made America hate again." Another propped up a sign reading, "Make tacos, not walls."

ADVERTISEMENT

Trump hosted a rally in El Paso on Monday night amid his calls for $5.7 billion in funding for a wall along the southern border. He said during his State of the Union last week that El Paso was an example of how walls work, a comment that prompted backlash from multiple local officials.

The rally and march that O'Rourke headlined sought to "show the country the reality of the border," according to a statement released by O'Rourke's office Friday.

“Beto O’Rourke will join with his city on Monday evening to show the country the reality of the border — a vibrant, safe, binational community that proudly celebrates its culture, history, diversity and status as a city of immigrants,” the statement said before the rally.

O'Rourke said during a speech at the rally that El Paso was one of the safest cities in the country.

"Safe not because of walls but in spite of walls," he said.