Here is what Numbers USA says about Perry and amnesty:
"Gov. Perry's position on amnesty remains unclear. During the Bush Presidency, Gov. Perry gave mild support to the idea of legalization. But he has spoken against Pres. Obama's various "administrative amnesties." He recently has defended his support as governor for Texas in-state tuition for illegal aliens (a form of amnesty). He opposes a congressional-passed amnesty as long as the border is not secure. He says once the border is secure, a conversation about amnesty can start. He does not make it clear where he would stand during such a conversation. On balance, we have to give him an UNHELPFUL, not sure whether he is closer to moving into a BAD or a GOOD rating.
■ When Gov. Perry was asked at the Republican debate on September 7, 2011, how to handle the 11 million illegal aliens living in the United States, he said: "[Once the border is secure] then you can have an intellectually appropriate discussion about immigration reform." Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/us/politics/08republican-debate-text.html?pagewanted=all
■ At the GOP Presidential debate on September 12, 2011, Gov. Perry for the first time stated that he opposed the federal DREAM Act amnesty: "I'm not for the DREAM Act that they are talking about in Washington D.C. that is amnesty." But he then defended his part in enacting a section of the DREAM Act (in-state tuition for illegal aliens) in Texas: "What we did in the state of Texas was clearly a states right issue. And the legislature passed with only four dissenting votes in the House and the Senate to allow this to occur. We were clearly sending a message to young people, regardless of what the sound of their last name is, that we believe in you. That if you want to live in the state of Texas and you want to pursue citizenship, that we're going to allow you the opportunity to be contributing members in the state of Texas and not be a drag on our state." Source: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1109/12/se.06.html
■ During his time as Governor of Texas, Rick Perry consistently supported allowing illegal aliens to pay in-state tuition at Texas' state colleges and universities. On July 24, 2011, he told the New Hampshire Union Leader, "To punish these young Texans for their parents' actions is not what America has always been about." Source: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20110724/NEWS0605/707249985
■ In a September 2010 interview, Gov. Perry said the following regarding the Obama Administration's memo advocating an administrative amnesty for illegal aliens: "The idea that the administration unilaterally is going to be handing out citizenship to the United States is pretty offensive to people who stood in line for long periods of time to become citizens…so I think it’s a really bad idea.” Source: http://foxnewsinsider.com/2010/09/22/governor-rick-perry-on-the-report-of-a-new-amnesty-plan-for-illegals/
■ In A December 2006 editorial, Gov. Perry wrote: "But to me neither amnesty nor mass deportation is the answer. The first unfairly rewards those who broke our laws, and the latter is not only unrealistic and unenforceable, but it would devastate our economy. That’s why I support a guest worker program that takes undocumented workers off the black market and legitimizes their economic contributions without providing them citizenship status.... Along with millions of Americans, I think it is wrong to reward those who broke our laws with citizenship ahead of those who have followed the law and are waiting to enter this country legally. And like millions of Americans I do not support amnesty."
I define amnesty as "Any legislation that legalizes the status of those who broke our laws by entering our country illegally and allows them to stay is amnesty."
Based on Perry's statements, he is an amnesty advocate no different than Obama and McCain who are also against amnesty. They are using word games to disguise what they support. Source: http://governor.state.tx.us/news/editorial/10326