I must have missed something. Did they call for the government to hand out work visas to illegal immigrants? Rick Perry did.
I haven't seen the details of the Perry transcript; but it sounds like a version of Sarah Palin's plan, as she outlined it some time ago. You seal the borders, get the flow of illegals under control. Then you offer temporary work permits to the illegals already here and working. It gets them out of the shadows, you get them registered, figure out what work they are doing and if they are needed, and then after their temp permits expire, they go home and re-apply (the part which called for them to go home and come back).
If they don't immediately register, you track them down and deport them. It's a middle ground for those like Palin who say you can't just round up all the illegals and send them home. You may disagree, but we haven't had much luck doing it so far.
I can't find Cain's statement on what to do after the border is secured. Maybe you can provide a link.