Free Republic

ORLANDO -- With both jobs and immigration likely topics of sharp debate at tonight's Republican debate here in Florida, a new report suggests that newly-arrived immigrants have filled a majority of new jobs created in Texas, home to Republican frontrunner Gov. Rick Perry. "Of jobs created in Texas since 2007, 81 percent were taken by newly arrived immigrant workers (legal and illegal)," says the report from the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates reduced levels of both legal and illegal immigration. The report estimates that about 40 percent of the new jobs were taken by illegal immigrants, while...

Governor Rick Perry (R-Texas) has pointed to job growth in Texas during the current economic downturn as one of his main accomplishments. But analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) data collected by the Census Bureau show that immigrants (legal and illegal) have been the primary beneficiaries of this growth since 2007, not native-born workers.

In Governor Palin’s speech in Iowa on Saturday, she spoke about crony capitalism and about the importance of vetting a candidate based on his or her record: “So, please, you must vet a candidate’s record. You must know their ability to successfully reform and actually fix problems that they’re going to claim they inherited. Real reform never sits well with the entrenched special interests, and that’s why the true voices of reform are so quickly demonized.” These words really stuck out to me. Since Governor Perry entered the presidential race a couple weeks ago, I have spoken with many conservatives...