One of the major sticking points of Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential campaign is what some GOP primary voters see as his moderate to liberal stance on illegal immigration.
Conservatives groaned when they learned that Perry supported in-state tuition for the children of illegals in Texas, opposes E-Verify, opposed Arizona’s illegal immigration law and even floated the idea of bi-national health care with Mexico.
In a long-form interview out Thursday with Right Wing News’ John Hawkins, Perry attempted to smooth over some of the more rocky portions of his immigration record, starting with in-state tuition for children of illegals.
According to Perry, while he supports Texas’ tuition policy, he virulently opposed the federal DREAM Act because he sees it as amnesty — adding that he regretted calling those who oppose education for the children of illegals “heartless.”
“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,” Perry said, explaining that included devising ways to keep the children of illegals out of prison and off subsidized heath care.
“On the issue of all Texas residents paying in-state tuition, I regret the comment from the debate. It was a poor choice of words, and it wasn’t fair to those who disagree with the policy,” he added.
Perry reiterated his opposition to the existence of sanctuary cities, touted a bill he signed banning drivers licenses for illegals and explained that while he is for reducing the size of government, he is for spending more on border security. (RELATED: Jesse Jackson Jr. introduces House resolution condemning Rick Perry)
“Border security is a federal responsibility. Our greatest need is more boots on the ground, and America needs a president who will stop talking about securing the border and finally do it,” he said.
Indeed, border security is why he opposed the Arizona law, SB 1070, because he saw it as a band-aid for a problem that needed a border-based solution.
“In Texas, our efforts have focused on stopping the illegal flow of narcotics and people before they cross the border, rather than once they get here,” he said. “It’s the philosophy that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
Perry did, however, support Arizona when the Department of Justice sued the state over the law.
The Texas governor went on to clarify his stance on E-Verify, saying that he opposes it because, in current form, it is inefficient and ineffective. According to Perry, he would support a similar system if it worked and would do so if elected president.
“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,” he said.
“But just because it has problems doesn’t mean we should throw employee verification out,” Perry continued. “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.”
During the Fox News/Google debate in September, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum charged that Perry supported bi-national health care with Mexico. According to Perry, however, the goal was choice for consumers.
“In Texas, we are always looking for innovative ways to improve the delivery and cost of health care,” he said. “Texas reviewed the issue, but never pursued it… The idea was similar to allowing states to enter into compacts or allowing health insurance products to be sold across state lines. I think what I mentioned in that 2001 speech was that the legislature was conducting a ‘feasibility study.’ Turns out it wasn’t feasible to implement.”
Perry added that he opposes any talk of “comprehensive immigration” reform until the border is secure.
