Posted on 08/24/2011 5:08:50 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
As he enters the Republican presidential race, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is striking some red-meat notes on the subject of immigration. Border security, he says, is a federal responsibility -- and immigration reform will have to wait until the border is secured. Invoking his beloved 10th Amendment, he proposes that in the meantime states should have some latitude to set their own course on the subject. As for Texas, he suggests, unauthorized immigration will not be treated lightly; earlier this year he called for a state law to abolish sanctuary cities, although the bill never made it to his desk.
Set aside the campaign chatter. Perry actually has a relatively moderate record on immigration. In 2001, he signed a law allowing undocumented students who graduate from Texas high schools to pay in-state tuition at Texas public universities. Last year he criticized Arizona's strict new immigration enforcement law, and said that it wouldn't be right for Texas. He's called for a guest-worker program and a path to citizenship. Other than this year's campaign against sanctuary cities, there is little in his decade-plus as governor to suggest that he has the appetite for a crackdown on economic migrants. NumbersUSA, a group that campaigns for less immigration, has given him a "D-" -- worse, in their view, than Michele Bachman, Mitt Romney, or Sarah Palin.
Perry has, of course, been hawkish about border security. He has repeatedly said that both border security and immigration reform fall into what he sees as the rather narrow category of Washington's responsibilities, and he argues that the former takes precedence over the latter -- or should, at least....
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Should have just elected McCain and gotten it over with.
What the GOP needs to be taught is that hispandering never gets hispanic votes for the Republican Party, loses elections, and hurts the country. Rick Perry is more likely to support a path to legal status for illegal aliens than Bachmann or even Romney. I don’t think we need W 2.0 as our nominee.
Perry could have passed that bill if he wanted to but Bob Perry was against it.
Rick Perry will be another Obama. He will say and do anything to be elected.He also wants more drones on the border, drones are here and agents way over there.Drones see drug smgllers but cannot use fire power to stop them. Drones are like the National Guard, they can only look, spot & report..Perry is another SELL OUT.. In my opinion...
Ricardo Parrito,Can teach the GOP what NOT EVER to Do!
Rick Perry = George W. Bush’s third term. Another âcompassionate conservative who is more interested in what’s best for Mexico rather than the United States. Who cares what U.S. residents think as long as Vincente Fox and Phillipe Calderon are happy?
Downside is this will drive the issue to the left or keep it on the left amongst the GOP candidates.
I'm still waiting for the Perrybots to tell me why this is ok.
(((ping)))
Hispanic Tejanos have long been part of the Texas culture, before Texas was a state or a republic. I live in Texas, speak Spanish, have decent appreciation for their customs, etc. The vast majority of the Tejano citizenry population are hard working, family oriented, and fairly conservative on the political spectrum. Illegal aliens crossing the border are an entirely different matter, especially because of the connection with the narcotrafficantes in Mexico and other criminal activity. It certainly is a national government job to enforce the borders, not a state matter. However, Texas has been obliged devote a very large state police effort supplemented by local county law enforcement and the Texas Rangers, to make up for the miserable job done by the feds on protecting the border. Law enforcement advises citizens in the areas impacted by high incidence of illegal alien incursions to be aware and be armed against violent risks from these criminals invading the country. Perry is a big second amendment supporter and carries a weapon sometimes. Perry has consistently called for federal intervention to curtail the illegal border crossings, and he’s right, that is Washington’s job to ensure the borders are controlled. As far as path to citizenship, Rick Perry would never do what Obama has done, that is, the Resident’s direction to the federal officials at Customs and Immigration to stop enforcing the law and deportations of illegal aliens.
I have lived abroad almost 10 years of my working career, and every country I ever lived in kept close track of my immigration status and permission to remain in country. How the US, one of the most wealthy nations in the world, can fail in that simple task, is incomprehensible.
This is why we vet the candidates!!! If the MSM and GOP talking heads won’t, the bloggers and alternative media WILL !!!!
Just look at the flack Michelle Malkin got last week for her article.
David Dewhurst killed that bill. Twice.
Don’t worry. Rick’s packin’ heat in his FR shill photo ops. He’ll round up those illegals single handed once they use up their free Texas taxpayer funded college tuition.
What is there concerns "jurisdiction of a state" and "erecting a new state", and all sorts of things like that which suggest that states define "borders" ~ not the other way around ~
Seems to me a slick lawyer could come up with a winning argument to assign border defense to the states ~ and deny it to the federales unless they get the state's permission.
There hasn’t been a good President on legal immigration since Coolidge, and on illegal immigration since Eisenhower.
And we still won’t have a good president on immigration if a Republican beats Obama next year.
Hunstman as VP?
No such thing as ‘’moderate’’ A ‘’moderate’’ man is a timid man, more apt to try and please everyone so as not to offend anyone. As I’ve said before , if this our candidate, then we’ve lost.
Bank robbery is a Federal crime too. Is there a ‘’sanctuary city’’ for that as well? I’d like to know.
Why don’t you type it up and send it to Obama!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.