Rick Perry’s Open Borders Speech

nhteapartycoalition.org ^ | 09 13th, 2011 | Staff

[BarnacleCenturion]

Thank you Senator Lucio. President Nevarez, UT-Pan American is to be commended for its vision and leadership in hosting this unprecedented border summit in the beautiful Texas town of Edinburg.

...

The NAFTA agreement not only signaled a new era of economic possibility, but a new era of bi-national cooperation. That is why it is wrong, and inherently detrimental to our relationship with Mexico for the U.S. Congress to pursue a protectionist policy that forbids Mexican trucks from U.S. roadways.

...

Legislation authored by border legislators Pat Haggerty and Eddie Lucio establishes an important study that will look at the feasibility of bi-national health insurance. This study recognizes that the Mexican and U.S. sides of the border compose one region, and we must address health care problems throughout that region.

...

And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That’s why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate. Those young minds are a part of a new generation of leaders, the doors of higher education must be open to them. The message is simple: educacion es el futuro, y si se puede.

...

President Fox’s vision for an open border is a vision I embrace, as long as we demonstrate the will to address the obstacles to it.

...

[BarnacleCenturion]

Full speech:

http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/10688/

[Bernard]

I would agree with everything Rick Perry has to say, but unfortunately, just like the Tin Man, I don’t have a heart. Rick Perry said so.

[wolfcreek]

“An open border means poverty has given way to opportunity, and Mexico’s citizens do not feel compelled to cross the border to find that opportunity. It means we have addressed pollution concerns, made substantial progress in stopping the spread of disease, and rid our crossings of illicit drug smuggling activity. Clearly we have a long way to go in addressing those issues.”

No one seems to want to highlight this part.

[freedomfiter2]

I know what you mean. I would support Perry but I don’t haave the heart to do it.

[normy]

Ever wonder why Canadians aren't scrambling by the millions to get here? Perry nails this.

We can't have a border with Mexico like we do with Canada until Mexico opens up opportunity to it's own people.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

http://governor.state.tx.us/news/speech/10688/

Gov. Rick Perry’s Remarks to the Border Summit

Wednesday, August 22, 2001 • Speech

Thank you Senator Lucio. President Nevarez, UT-Pan American is to be commended for its vision and leadership in hosting this unprecedented border summit in the beautiful Texas town of Edinburg. My friends from Mexico, including Governor Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba of Tamaulipas, and Governor Fernando Canales Clariond of Nuevo Leon, it is an honor to be in your presence. I want to extend my gratitude to our Mexican neighbors for hosting me this July as I sought to learn one of the world’s great languages, Spanish. I enjoyed your hospitality, and was grateful for your patience as I worked on my vocabulary. No longer do I refer to “la verdad” as “la verdura.” I am delighted to see friends from the U.S. side of the border as well, including our distinguished members of the Legislature, and our county and city leaders along the border.

Today we begin a new dialogue about our shared future, a future of promising potential if we work together to solve the challenges we both face. It is fitting that we convene this summit where the great, meandering river known as the Rio Grande – or the Rio Bravo – forms the long border between Texas and Mexico. In years past, that famed body of water has been seen by many as a dividing point, If you were to walk along its banks and look to the other side, based on the stereotypes of the past, you would think you were seeing things a million miles away, instead of a stone’s throw away. But I am here today to say that while we have honest differences, there is more that unites us than divides us. The Rio Grande does not separate two nations, it joins two peoples. Mexico and the United States have a shared history, and a common future. And it is along this border where we will either fail or succeed in addressing the education, health care and transportation needs of our two peoples.

Critical to our future is meeting our border infrastructure needs. We must get traffic moving along the border so that businesses along the border and thousands of miles away can deliver products on time, and continue to grow. Companies from Spokane, Washington to Concord, New Hampshire depend on Texas highways and Texas bridges to move their products south. Seventy percent of all U.S.-Mexico truck traffic goes to, or through, the Lone Star state. Fifteen of our twenty-seven border crossings with Mexico are located in Texas. Fifty-four percent of all U.S.-Mexico trade crosses just between Brownsville and Laredo. This year the Texas legislature appropriated approximately $1 billion more in transportation funding. But more can be done.

With Texas serving as the Gateway to Mexico, it is time that we receive congressional funding that reflects the instrumental role our state plays as a port of entry. With a Texan in the White House, I believe there is no greater opportunity to end the funding discrimination that crippled Texas infrastructure under the previous administration. Good infrastructure is essential to the free flow of commerce. It is a matter of economic fact that free trade lifts the tide for all the boats in the harbor. U.S. trade with Mexico has increased by 500% since 1994. Exports and imports between Texas and Mexico now exceed $100 billion dollars annually. Thousands of jobs have been created for Texas and Mexican workers, confirming the indisputable fact that trade with Mexico is big business for Texas.

The fruits of NAFTA have just begun to ripen. At the same time, we must not allow the roots of the tree to become poisoned. The NAFTA agreement not only signaled a new era of economic possibility, but a new era of bi-national cooperation. That is why it is wrong, and inherently detrimental to our relationship with Mexico for the U.S. Congress to pursue a protectionist policy that forbids Mexican trucks from U.S. roadways. It is bad public policy, and it violates the terms of the NAFTA agreement we agreed to. Mexican trucks that meet our safety standards should be given the same access to U.S. roads as our Canadian neighbors to the north.

Mexico, too, must be vigilant in realizing its treaty obligations. For more than half a century, under the 1944 Water Treaty our two nations have cooperated so that the water needs of both countries are met. But as of late, Mexico is behind in delivering the water it has promised to the U.S. A Mexican judicial injunction now threatens the livelihood of our Rio Grande Valley farmers, and has become a source of contention between our two nations. It is time to end this dispute. I would ask that the Mexican government meet its obligation under the treaty, Texas growers are depending on it.

There are other challenges that require a unified approach, especially in the area of health care. A lack of preventative medicine means conditions that could have been eliminated through childhood immunizations show up in disturbing numbers later in life. Limited availability of medical specialists means conditions like heart disease and diabetes go untreated at alarming rates. In Texas, we recently placed a strong emphasis on preventative care when we expanded access to Medicaid for more low-income children by making the Medicaid enrollment process simpler. We allocated an additional $4 billion to the Medicaid program, and more than $900 million to the Children’s Health Insurance Program. I urged legislators to pass a telemedicine pilot program that will enable, through technology, a sick border resident of limited financial means to receive care from a specialist hundreds of miles away. But the effort to combat disease and illness requires greater cooperative efforts between our two nations. It is a simple truth that disease knows no boundaries. An outbreak of drug-resistant tuberculosis, for example, endangers citizens of both our nations. We have much to gain if we work together to expand preventative care, and treat maladies unique to this region.

Legislation authored by border legislators Pat Haggerty and Eddie Lucio establishes an important study that will look at the feasibility of bi-national health insurance. This study recognizes that the Mexican and U.S. sides of the border compose one region, and we must address health care problems throughout that region. That’s why I am also excited that Texas Secretary of State Henry Cuellar is working on an initiative that could extend the benefits of telemedicine to individuals living on the Mexican side of the border.

As a compassionate state, we know that for our children to succeed, they must not only be healthy, but educated. The future leaders of our two nations are learning their fractions and their ABC’s in classrooms all along this border. Immigrants from around the world are being taught in Texas classrooms, and our history is rich with examples of new citizens who have made great contributions. We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, “we don’t care where you come from, but where you are going, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get there.” And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That’s why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate. Those young minds are a part of a new generation of leaders, the doors of higher education must be open to them. The message is simple: educacion es el futuro, y si se puede.

We also know that poverty is not unique to either side of the border. Some of Texas’ poorest citizens live in colonias all along the border. They often lack basic infrastructure many of us take for granted. Just today, the North American Development Bank announced it will provide $6.3 million in funding to hook up colonia residents in six border cities to water and wastewater lines. More than 18,000 residents will benefit from these water or wastewater hookups. And this November, by approving Proposition 2, Texas voters can ensure that their neighbors in colonias have quality roads so that school buses, emergency vehicles and postal trucks can reach residents, and residents can get to a job or a school reliably.

President Fox’s vision for an open border is a vision I embrace, as long as we demonstrate the will to address the obstacles to it. An open border means poverty has given way to opportunity, and Mexico’s citizens do not feel compelled to cross the border to find that opportunity. It means we have addressed pollution concerns, made substantial progress in stopping the spread of disease, and rid our crossings of illicit drug smuggling activity. Clearly we have a long way to go in addressing those issues. At the same time we must continue to deepen our economic ties, expanding opportunities for Mexican and U.S. companies to do business on both sides of the border. The outlook is promising, even if the road to prosperity is a long one. We share a bond as neighbors, and we find our culture north of the Rio Grande to be increasingly defined by the strong traits of people of Hispanic descent. Texas has long enjoyed a unique identity, an identity forged by an independent spirit, and the convergence of many different peoples. We must welcome change in the 21st Century as we have in every century before it.

Today, as we look to the south, we see a rising sun. It is perched above a people whose best days are in front of them. Let us endeavor to make the most of this new day through a new dialogue. Let us work together to combat disease, expand trade and provide educational opportunities. If we do, there are no limits to what we can accomplish for the betterment of all of our citizens. Thank you, and God bless you.

[Liz]

I would agree with everything Perry has to say, but unfortunately, just like the Tin Man, I don’t have a heart. In fact, we would all support Perry but we don’t have the heart to do it. Rick Perry said so.......

Unfortunately. Perry has been unable to communicate with the US voters he needs to support him.

But his Border Summit speech shows Perry communicates so well with Mexico.

That's b/c they all speak the "Freebie Dialect."

[CGalen]

“And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That’s why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate.”

---

Does this mean that Perry wants students from Wyoming have to pay more in tuition than illegal immigrants?

IF so, that is a deal breaker.

[Will88]

Nothing in Perry’s speech about fundamental reforms that need to take place in Mexico, but I’m sure his nonsense is appreciated by the Mexican elite who depend upon the US to take their surplus population, decade after decade as has been the case for fifty or more years. Actually for longer than that, but it has been an increasing flood of illegals for four or five decades.

And he again displays why it is to the detriment of the US beyond the southern border to have a border state politician in the White House. In this speech he sounds like he thinks he’s already president of the US, making a foreign policy speech on behalf of the entire US.

And he is absolutely for open borders and those who deny it simply make themselves look silly.

[rintense]

Of course it does. It’s affirmative action for illegals.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

Man, he doesn’t just “touch” the third rail (immigration) ... he hugs it. Bye Bye Rick ... c’mon Mr. Cain! (and that from a gun toting, bible carrying white guy).

[rintense]

PING!

[Liz]

Mmmmmmmmm......his Border Summit speech shows Perry communicates so well with Mexico.

That’s b/c they all speak the “Freebie Dialect.”

[ziravan]

We can't have a border with Mexico like we do with Canada until Mexico opens up opportunity to it's own people.

One of the things the illegal coddlers never seem to realize is that Mexico will NEVER improve opportunities for their people so long as they can use the United States as an escape valve for their horrible policies. Given the opportunity to fight for reform, or escape - escaping is easier.

The border is in full scale breakdown on the Mexican side, and we bear much of the responsibility. Our open borders have allowed the drug runners to gain the funding and means to take on a government weakened by corruption and flight by its citizens.

We do neither the United States nor Mexico - or either sets of Citizens - any favors by coddling and encouraging illegal behavior.

We do our own Party no favors, either. Polls show that upwards of 40% of Hispanic Citizens do not favor illegal invasion. The Establishment policy of Open Borders is the worst political element of both Worlds. We cater to a vote (illegal undermining of the Rule of Law) that will NEVER support Republicans at the same time as we fail to cater to the voters (Hispanic Citizens that come with a Roman Catholic cultural background of pro-life, strong work ethic, and big family closeness -- yes I know that many Hispanics are no longer Catholic, but that philosophy is imprinted in the last century of Latin American culture - and it IS a philosophy sympathetic to Conservatism) that should and could be convinced to NEVER vote for Democrats.

And LEGAL immigrants that play by the rules and escape near despot regimes almost always side with Conservatism once HERE. People that have seen first hand what liberal policies accomplish are far less likely to support them.

If Rick Perry wants to espouse an idea of making our border with Mexico like Canada's - then he needs to embrace tough love and close the damn border and end the subsidies for breaking our laws.

I know, I know. I've heard the sales pitch - it's a FEDERAL problem. Let me ask this, if it's a Federal problem, yet the Gov. claims that Texas spent $400 million dollars fighting that problem, where did our Texas tax dollars go on this issue? If Perry can't make a dent in progress with $400 million Texas Taxpaying dollars, why should I trust him with a larger role to play?

On the other hand, reports are that Alabama is experiencing a mass exodus of illegals simply by passing a law requiring public schools to identify them. . .

[Liz]

Every time I see that pic of Perry at La Raza, I keep wondering if he did his usual suck-up by promising to get "raza studies" in Texas schools----which he would mandate for ALL US schools if he ever got into the WH.

Anti-Americanism Disguised as Ethnic Studies
Townhall.com ^ | August 27, 2011 | Rachel Alexander
FR Posted on Monday, August 22, 2011

...... “raza studies,” which means race studies, are championed by organizations like the far left organization National Council of La Raza. The “raza studies” do not simply teach Latino youth about their heritage, it goes well beyond that. The textbooks teach Latino youth that they are mistreated by America, training them to become radical anti-American activists. Textbooks include “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and “Occupied America.” Another text "gloats over the difficulties our country is having at enforcing its immigration laws." Benjamin Franklin is vilified as a racist. White people are referred to as “gringos” and “oppressors” of Latino people. “Privilege” is described as related to a person’s ethnicity.

At a TUSD school board meeting on May 10, one upset mother read excerpts from the textbook “An Epic Poem,” including, My land is lost and stolen, My culture has been raped….we have to destroy capitalism…overthrow a government that has committed abuses….to the bloodsuckers, the parasites, the vampires who are the capitalists of the world: The schools are tools of the power structure that blind and sentence our youth to a life of confusion, and hypocrisy, one that preaches assimilation and practices institutional racism." --SNIP--

[Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears]

Now he wants to send our troops to Mexico:

Rick Perry says U.S. troops may needed in Mexico to fight war against drug cartels

[Do Not Make Fun Of His Ears]

Now he wants to send our troops to Mexico:

Rick Perry says U.S. troops may needed in Mexico to fight war against drug cartels

[Jane Long]

Thanks for posting the full text of this Perry speech to Mexican nationals. Scary stuff, indeed.

Where does he chastise (and hold accountable) Mexico for not providing equal opportunities in security/safety, economics, education, welfare and healthcare to their own people? Where does Perry put the ownership on Mexico, and not America?

How is it that Canada provides for their own, Mexico does not...and somehow Texans and Americans are responsible for Mexico's dereliction of duty?

[montag813]

Where is the VIDEO. A transcript won’t convince anyone.

[montag813]

Thanks for posting the full text of this Perry speech to Mexican nationals. Scary stuff, indeed.

LOL. I don't think you realize she is FOR Perry. A "PerryBot" as some would say. And clearly thinks this speech is brilliant. Amazing the chasm of opinion on Perry.

Meanhwhile, I totally agree that it is pathetic to see us make excuses, and even profess GUILT, for poverty in Mexico - the 10th richest nation on Earth, with a nationalized oil and tourism industry, and home to the world's richest man, Carlos Slim Helu, worth some $78 BILLION dollars.