Do you understand how a veto works ? It doesn’t matter how many votes in the legislature there were. The governor can STILL veto a bill. Then it goes back to the legislature and they must decide whether to override the governor’s veto. Had Perry really believed in reserving those university spaces for American students, he WOULD have vetoed the bill and forced the public scrutiny on the legislature that an override would have brought. Perry would have had clean hands and done the right thing, even if they had gone ahead with the override under the increased public awareness.
Have you considered that every year thousands of students cannot be accepted to state colleges and universities because there are not enough slots ? Have you considered that the Texas taxpayers support those schools and subsidize the true operating costs which are several times the in-state tuition and the taxpayers must cover the difference ? By failing to veto this bill, Perry spent taxpayer dollars to subsidize the higher educations of people who CANNOT EVEN WORK LEGALLY IN AMERICA, while at the same time denying American students the opportunity to go to college.
If Perry had Veto’d the bill and sent it back - they would have passed it anyway.
The bill has been changed twice and voted on again in 2005 and it was unanimous. No no votes.
In 2001 when they first passed this bill, Perry had just stepped up into the Governor’s role due to Bush becoming President.
Perry was simply going along with what the majority (AT THAT TIME) of Texans wanted.
This is an issue Texas deals with because the Federal Government will not secure the border, requires that we educate illegals and will not deport them.
Texas makes a PROFIT off the illegals that enter college so it is not a taxpayer issue. And since they are here, might as well make lemonade with the lemons the Fed Gov has left us with.
He has stated over and over that this legislation would not be a national issue and he would never introduce it.
It is a 10th Amendment State issue.
Besides, when he becomes President, he will secure the border with National Guard Troops and once the border is secure this problem becomes a mute point.