On in state tuition:
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of higher learning would actually lose tens of millions of dollars in lost tuition payments if the law were repealed.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. That is silly. You guys have to do better then that. Perry has successfully governed the second most populated state in the union for the last 11 years and has a solid conservative record on most issues.
On E-Verify:
I agree that some kind of electronic verification system is needed so we can make sure employers comply with the law not to hire illegal immigrants. E-Verify is a federal government created and run program, and as a result there have been a number of problems with it so far. The Department of Homeland Security estimated the system could fail to identify more than half of all illegal immigrants. But just because it has problems doesn’t mean we should throw employee verification out. It means we should make it work. Employee verification needs to be accurate so American citizens aren’t denied jobs based on bad data and undocumented immigrants don’t slip through the system. And it needs to be less cumbersome for employers to use, so it’s not costing them money they could be using to create jobs. So as president, I’d work to put in place an E-Verify system that’s more accurate, less burdensome and really delivers the results we need it to.
On opposing a full fence:
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.
Read the entire interview at this LINK.
He publicly stated he is opposed to fence and e-verify.
I trust his words.
Tuition for illegals tells me enough for his priorities
He publicly stated he is opposed to fence and e-verify.
I trust his words.
Tuition for illegals tells me enough for his priorities