Perry's Immigration Problem

In the Sept. 7 Republican debate, Perry, governor of a border state for more than a decade, didn't have much to say about immigration. When asked how he would secure the U.S.-Mexican border, his answer was "boots on the ground" -- Border Patrol agents -- and more unmanned drone aircraft - many Republicans and conservatives fear is that he is too soft on immigration. he did go on to criticize Obama on the issue by saying ;

"For the president of the United States to go to El Paso, Texas, and say that the border is safer than it's ever been, either he has some of the poorest intel of a president in the history of this country, or he was an abject liar to the American people," Perry said. "It is not safe on that border."

But Romney was prepared for the question and hit it out of the park, first, he called for a fence along the border. Then, he called for more U.S. agents to secure the fence. And then he called for measures to turn off what he called the "magnet" drawing illegal immigrants to the United States. "Sanctuary cities, giving tuition breaks to the kids of illegal aliens, employers that knowingly hire people who are here illegally -- those things also have to be stopped," Romney said.

The "magnet" and "Sanctuary cities" are the key points in getting a handle on illegal aliens entering the U.S. and now Obama's backdoor amnesty program is yet another magnet drawing them in. Now once they get here they can mostly stay if they keep a low profile and don't break any serious laws. Laws such as illegal entry, document fraud, personal ID theft, driving under the influence, are not likely to get illegals deported any longer - and since the the new policy just begun we are not sure what will ? murder ? rape ? aggravated assault ? carrying a concealed deadly weapon ? we don't know it's entirely up to the discretion of immigration officials, who under Obama are very illegal alien friendly and likely to be very lenient.

Perry's positions will alienate a significant part of the Republican primary electorate. Romney or some other candidate will take advantage of that.

Perry doesn't support the idea of a fence, "Building a wall on the entire border is a preposterous idea," he said recently in New Hampshire. "The only thing a wall would possibly accomplish is to help the ladder business." Perry says he supports some forms of "strategic fencing in certain urban areas," but that's all.

Perry opposes E-Verify, which is a program requiring employers to check the legal status of new hires. It has been very effective in stopping the hiring of illegals, but Perry does not support requiring private businesses to use it, and he doesn't want state agencies in Texas to use it, either. "E-Verify would not make a hill of beans' difference in what's happening today," Perry said in a 2010 debate.

What does Perry support ? Taxpayer-subsidized, in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. Perry signed the Texas Dream Act in 2001. "We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, 'We don't care where you came from, but where you are going," Perry said, which makes for a good sound bite, but does nothing to stop Mexico from exporting the education of it's children to the U.S, or helping Americans kids who are getting the shaft when it comes to getting a decent education in the U.S.

Perry also supports a guest worker program "I support a guest worker program that takes undocumented workers off the black market and legitimizes their economic contributions without providing them citizenship status," Perry said in 2006. "A guest worker program that provides foreign workers with an ID removes the incentive for millions of people to illegally enter our country." that's just amnesty with a different label.

The fact that Perry is the Governor of Texas may be a major strike against him after all, not because of liberal "Cowboy" meme that get pushed around in the media, but because of his myopic views on national policies - We don't need a "President of Texas", we need a "President of the the United States" and just duplicating laws that have been implemented in Texas because Texas has created jobs and has an economy with a pulse does mean they are good for the country - On one issue alone Perry's support of guest worker program tries to make the argument that by legalizing these workers they will pay taxes and therefore become productive members of our society - Nothing could be further from the truth. Illegals aliens don't risk their lives, leave their families, and country to come here to see what they can put in, they come here to see what they can get - We already know that while some may pay taxes - it pales in comparison to what they get back in educational grants - social services, and welfare.

The TREASURY INSPECTOR GENERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION RECOVERY ACT has just released a shocking report that revels that with our debt standing at over $14.5 trillion and counting, The Internal Revenue Service allowed undocumented workers to collect $4.2 billion in refundable tax credits last year, a new audit says, almost quadruple the sum five years ago.

We need a President who sees the big picture, and abides by his oath to serve and protect the people of the United States, not another president that thinks he has all the answers and is above the laws and can ignore our Constitution, because he knows better. Maybe he'd be better off staying in Texas.