Perry's Leadership in Border State Colors His Immigration Stances
ANALYSIS | Having served as the governor of a border state, Rick Perry is often peppered with questions regarding immigration. Most political commentators and strategists believe that immigration will be a problem area for Perry as the primary season moves forward. Basically, Perry may have a problem with the conservative base because his views on immigration are not that much different than that of many Democrats.
Perry on a Border Fence
Perry has spoken on the issue of a border fence multiple times over his political career as the chief executive of a border state. In a speech to the Texas Border Coalition in 2006 and again in a speech during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Perry expressed his view that a border fence would be helpful in metropolitan areas, and is helpful in some of those areas now, but would not be feasible to construct along the entire border.
In commenting on the idea of a border-long fence, Perry said "the only thing a wall would possibly accomplish is to help the ladder business." In other words, Perry does not believe that a border-long wall would help the immigration problem at all.
Perry on the DREAM Act
While governor of Texas, Perry signed into law a program that provided in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. He was hammered on this point by Rick Santorum during the 2011 GOP Tea Party debate in Tampa. Perry was asked if his program providing tuition was basically the same as the DREAM Act.
He responded that, while his program did provide tuition, it did not provide anything close to amnesty. Perry believes that the DREAM Act being proposed by some in the federal legislature is too close to an amnesty program, and he therefore does not support it. Instead, Perry defended his in-state tuition plan by saying that it sent a message to young people in his state, that "if you want to live in Texas, that we're going to allow you the opportunity to be contributing members."
Driver's License Legislation
Another issue that is sure to come up in debates, especially if Perry is nominated as the Republican candidate, is the fact that Perry vetoed legislation in Texas in 2001 that would have allowed the Department of Public Safety in Texas to allow whatever they saw fit as identification to get a driver's license. Opponents of the law claimed that it would assist illegal immigrants in obtaining a driver's license.
Perry's veto was considered as an "anti-immigrant" maneuver. He provided reasoning in that the state already had a system in place to allow immigrants in the country legally, as well as ambassadors, to drive. Despite this veto, Perry's record has been far more "immigrant-friendly" than any of the other GOP candidates. While that may hurt his chances with the conservative base, it may assist him in a general election against President Obama.
