Politics

Romney accuses Perry of siding with Democrats on illegals

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign is continuing to hit rival Texas Gov. Rick Perry for his stance on illegal immigration — saying he lines up on the issue with President Obama and other Democrats.

Ahead of Perry’s scheduled fundraisers in Maryland and Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, the Romney campaign released a web video comparing the Texas governor’s views with those of Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

At issue is Perry’s support for giving in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigration in Texas. Romney says he’s against doing so. He vetoed in-state tuition for illegal immigrants as governor of Massachusetts, his campaign said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCGgDSW6bzM&feature=player_embedded#!

But Perry defended his stance at last week’s presidential debate in Florida, arguing that it is the compassionate thing to do.

“If you say that we should not educate children who come into our state for no other reason than that they’ve been brought there through no fault of their own, I don’t think you have a heart,” Perry said.

“We need to be educating these children because they will become a drag on our society,” Perry said. “I think that’s what Texans wanted to do … This was a state issue. Texas voted on it. And I still support it today.”

Meanwhile, Perry’s campaign says Romney has “an integrity problem” and is a flip-flopper who changed his book “No Apology” between printed editions to de-emphasize his health care plan in Massachusetts. Rivals have accused Romney of pushing a state health care plan with ideas similar to the federal law pushed by Obama.

“Mitt Romney may try to edit his past, but he can’t — President Obama followed Mitt Romney’s model of Romneycare when he designed Obamacare,” Perry spokesman Mark Miner said. “Americans are looking for a proven and authentic conservative, not someone who changes his policies based on the ‘climate.’”

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