[snip]
"I have long been a proponent of strategic fencing because it is a critical component of border security, and it works when used in the right places.
I think what caused the hang up was that after it was passed, it was amended to give Homeland Security complete discretion on how, when and whether the fence ever gets built. Obviously with this president, that means it will never be completed.
If I’m elected, I will direct my Secretary of Homeland Security to expedite construction of strategic fencing along the border, especially in high traffic areas where manpower alone is insufficient to do the job.
But it’s important to remember that fencing is only one component of an overall border security strategy. A fence is only as secure as it is manned.
That’s why I would increase manpower on the border, starting with thousands of National Guard and border patrol agents, and I’d also make greater use of unmanned aerial vehicles to help gather real-time law enforcement intelligence.
We know for a fact that increased manpower is effective, because we’ve proved it in Texas with our $400 million border security effort."
[snip]
The federal DREAM Act is an amnesty bill, and I strongly oppose amnesty. The Texas educational residency bill was vastly different.
Because the federal government has failed in its basic duty to protect our borders, states are forced to deal with illegal immigrant issues.
In Texas, we had to deal with the children of illegal immigrants residing in our state and attending our schools, as the federal government requires states to educate these children through the public school system. Lawmakers in Texas – indisputably one of the most conservative states in America – were virtually unanimous in their decision.
The Legislature determined the payment of in-state college tuition is available to all students who have lived in Texas for at least three years and graduated from a public high school. If you meet those requirements, you pay in-state tuition, whether you relocated from Oklahoma, Idaho, Canada or Mexico. The only difference is that Texas residents who aren’t documented must be on the path to pursue U.S. citizenship to be allowed to pay in-state tuition.
There were a number of reasons the bill received widespread support among conservatives. Importantly, it has never had a cost to Texas taxpayers. In fact, our institutions of higher learning would actually lose tens of millions of dollars in lost tuition payments if the law were repealed.
And it would lower the odds that these students would receive subsidized health care or end up in prison. Protecting taxpayers was a serious concern, given that a Supreme Court decree already requires taxpayers to pay for K-12 education for undocumented students.
[snip]
Gov Rick Perry spoke to LaRaza about the drug cartels, shared responsibility of border security and that it is Washington's responsibility to secure the border -- that the Federal government should support the military, deliver the mail and secure the border -- and they aren't doing their job. [HE RECEIVED a lot of applause] He spoke of the money Texas spends securing the border, that it must be sealed and then we can sustain legitimate commerce...He told about protecting the sanctity of the vote and strengthening our shared values, family, faith hard work -- they are TEXAS values and we should unite as citizen's of one Nation under God and concentrate on what unites us. He told his Cuervo joke and they found it funny unlike the Liberal Latino Leaders Give Perry Lukewarm Response (or more likely they'd heard it before)
The fence is an unnecessary waste of money. It is nothing but a symbol and will not stop people intent on crossing. Eventually, it will become a symbol the left points to and ridicules as the right’s folly and they will be correct.
One thing that MUST be tackled for any immigration enforcement program to work is changing Section 1 of the 14th Amendment. It grants citizenship to anyone born on American soil regardless of the immigration status of the birth parents.
Ratified in 1868 following the War Between the States, the 14th Amendment reversed the 1857 Supreme Court Decision in Scott V Sandford (Dred Scott Decision) that people of African descent, brought to the U.S. and held as slaves (and their descendants) are not protected under the Constitution and could never be citizens. There was a genuine fear after the abolishment of slavery that blacks would be deported as non-citizens. It was a unique requirement for a unique time in our history but it is now the major stumbling block to modern immigration enforcement.
How many realize that most of the children of illegal parents residing in this country were born on U.S. soil after their parents’ arrival? Under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, that makes those children bona fide U.S. citizens, entitled to the same rights and privileges as every citizen. They cannot be deported without due process of law no more than you can. Do I like this? NO, but it is a fact and, if we insist that immigration laws be enforced, we must be consistent and respect the 14th Amendment. Until it is changed, we are stuck with complying by it.
What are the consequences of abiding by the 14th Amendment? Although it is legal to deport those who are not citizens, it is impractical and inhumane to do so when their children are legally U.S. citizens. The children cannot be deported without due process and for cause. That their parents are here illegally is not sufficient under the law. So, you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
On the surface it sounds like Governor Perry authorized taxpayer money to be spent on the public education of illegal aliens. In the vast majority of cases that isn’t so. Most of the children being educated are likely U.S. citizens entitled to the same rights and privileges as every other American child. It is their parents who are non-citizens. The Federation for American Immigration Reform estimates that there are 363,000 children born in the U.S. each year to illegal immigrant parents. Think about it. That is a city population larger than that for Charleston, SC created every single year by citizen babies born to the parents of illegal immigrants. The most pressing need is for changing the 14th amendment to eliminate this loophole.
URL to Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
http://www.fairus.org/site/PageNavigator/homepagenew