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[excerpt from tomorrow’s Time’s cover story issue on Perry]

Q:You were attacked by your Republican rivals in Monday’s debate for making in-state college tuition available to some illegal immigrants. What is your assessment of the immigration debate in this country?

Perry:The issue of education and in-state tuition is a state issue. It’s not a federal issue, and it shouldn’t be a federal issue. If you don’t like that in Arizona, if you don’t like that in Massachusetts, that’s your call. But in the state of Texas, we made the decision that on in-state tuition for young people — and frankly we don’t care what the sound of their last name is — we’re going to help them to become contributing members of society.

The bigger issue is that you’re never going to have a conversation that is anything more than an intellectual exercise about immigration until you secure the border. That is what we must focus on as a country. I do not agree that building a 1,800-mile barrier is thoughtful. It’s an easy answer. I think it’s a cop out for anyone who’s actually been on the border. It’s like building a wall from Bangor, Maine to Miami, Florida. What does work is strategic fencing in your metropolitan areas, having the boots on the ground. We are woefully understaffed on that border.

We have the technology. Predator drones are being flown in United States air space as we speak. Why not fly those from Brownsville, Texas, to El Paso and to Tijuana and back and use that real-time information for local law enforcement, our state law enforcement and our federal counterparts? That’s how you thoughtfully secure that border, and then you can have a discussion about what type of immigration reform we want to consider as a country. But not until then. Too many times, we’ve been told, if we’ll just pass this immigration reform then we’ll secure the border. And it hasn’t happened.

http://swampland.time.com/2011/09/15/rick-perry-exclusive-the-gops-fiery-front-runner-on-his-rise-record-and-rhetoric/?iid=sl-main-lede

Thanks. A thoughtful and detailed answer from Gov Perry that echos what he said in the debate last Monday night. There needs to be a national discussion on immigration.

I agree. The in-state tuition is a state issue and falls under federalism as outlined by the Reagan EO#12612. The fact that all but 4 Texas lawmakers voted against it should be a strong message to all conservatives.

More BP agents and TNG troops along with plenty of high tech hardware is part of the answer. Personally, I still want to see a fence/wall covering the full border with Mexico. And I want it paid for by the federal govt. Not by the states.

Uh...Slick Rick, you phony...talking all around the immigration issue. We don't need a fence, we don't need more Federal employee "boots on the ground" as you asserted before. The answer is to end all the policies which make it attractive for illegals to come here. You think native Texans should be taxed to provide subsidized college education for anchor babies of illegal immigrants. You also oppose eVerify, which would prevent employers from claiming they "didn't know" an applicant was illegal.

The "boots" ought to be kicking down the doors of your crony capitalists who hire illegals. But they're the ones financing your campaign, aren't they, Slick Rick? That's the real reason you oppose eVerify, you con artist.