As I said, he needed to have stopped blocking this same legislation at least two years ago, (two terms as governor ago would have been even better) to be credible. His eve of launching a presidential bid flip flop on the borders fails to convince. It makes him seem like a Mitt Clone.
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Aug 28, 2007
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[excerpt]....Perry, in Mexico with a Texan trade mission seeking opportunities in areas like renewable energy, said the federal government's plan to build a wall along much of the border to keep out illegal immigrants was "idiocy."
"We need those individuals to continue to grow our economy," Perry told a briefing with reporters.
"If you show up illegally, without your card or you're here as a criminal element, I'm for throwing the book at those folks, but the issue of people who want to legally, thoughtfully and appropriately come to America to work and help us build our economy -- we should quickly come up with a program and an identification card to do that."
Congress failed to pass a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws in June despite heavy lobbying by President George W. Bush.
Following the reform failure, Washington is concentrating on border enforcement -- building a security fence along the Mexican border, deporting undocumented immigrants and trying to prevent companies from hiring illegal migrants. [Well, MrEdd, we saw how that Washington thingy didn't happen]
Perry, a Republican, said it was important to separate immigration from security issues, which Texas has dealt with on its stretch of the Mexican border by deploying more guards.
"We know how to deal with border security, and you don't do it by building a fence," Perry said, ahead of a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.... [end excerpt]
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EXPAND! EXPAND! EXPAND! [TX legislature meets every 2 years]
As Texas moves toward expanding Secure Communities, several northern states are dropping out of the program that matches the fingerprints of those arrested against a U.S. [ICE] database.
Last week, before Gov. Rick Perry's announcement that the expansion of Secure Communities would be on the agenda for the Legislature's special session, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced his state will not take part in the program. [end excerpt]