Perry defends law allowing in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry gestures during a Republican presidential debate Monday, Sept. 12, 2011, in Tampa, Fla.

/ AP Photo/Mike Carlson

Prompting "boos" from the boisterous audience at Monday night's Tea Party-sponsored Republican presidential debate, Texas Governor Rick Perry stood by his 2001 decision to allow some undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition at Texas universities, arguing "it doesn't make any difference what the sound of your last name is."

"That is the American way," Perry said.

According to the law, often referred to as the Texas DREAM Act, students who have lived in Texas for at least three years and have graduated from high school or obtained a GED certificate are qualified to pay in-state tuition in Texas universities.

"In the state of Texas, if you've been in the state of Texas for three years, if you're working towards your college degree, and if you are working and pursuing citizenship in the state of Texas, you pay in-state tuition there," Perry said. "No matter how you got into that state, from the standpoint of your parents brought you there or what have you. And that's what we've done in the state of Texas."

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"I'm proud that we are having those individuals be contributing members of our society rather than telling them, you go be on the government dole," he added.

Former two-term Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum suggested that Perry's support for the Texas DREAM act was a ploy to attract Latino voters.

"What Governor Perry's done is he provided in-state tuition for -- for illegal immigrants. Maybe that was an attempt to attract the illegal vote -- I mean, the Latino voters," Santorum said, quickly correcting his flub.

Bachmann argued that the law Perry signed was "very similar" to one President Obama has long been lobbying for, and contended that providing undocumented immigrants with in-state education rates was "not the American way."

"I think that the American way is not to give taxpayer subsidized benefits to people who have broken our laws or who are here in the United States illegally," she said. "That is not the American way. Because the immigration system in the United States worked very, very well up until the mid-1960s when liberal members of Congress changed the immigration laws."

She added: "What works is to have people come into the United States with a little bit of money in their pocket legally with sponsors so that if anything happens to them, they don't fall back on the taxpayers to take care of them. And then they also have to agree to learn the speak the English language, learn American history and our constitution. That's the American way."

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Perry quickly attempted to distance himself from Mr. Obama's proposed DREAM Act, but emphasized that his legislation passed with bipartisan support.

"What we did in the state of Texas was clearly a states right issue. And the legislature passed with only four dissenting votes in the House and the Senate to allow this to occur," he said. "We were clearly sending a message to young people, regardless of what the sound of their last name is, that we believe in you. That if you want to live in the state of Texas and you want to pursue citizenship, that we're going to allow you the opportunity to be contributing members in the state of Texas and not be a drag on our state."

[AmTaxPayer4ever]

Your documentation does matter. These people are here illegally. They are criminal aliens. They are not immigrants. They have broken our laws, stolen our jobs, stiffed our hospitals, crowed our public schools and no schools are required to teach English as a Second language (LEARN ENGLISH), and produced anchor babies all over the place. Babies born in America should NOT be US citizens if they are not born to US Citizens. We are being invaded by outsiders and they are quietly conquering our country. They will take over our government and pass laws that benefit them. They have no respect for our laws or our citizens. Next, these criminals will be able to get federal financial aid when aid is being cut to our children. The Pell Grant program is in a terrible funding shortfall, the government has cut the year around Pell to our children, and now we are giving illegals in-state tuition. Our children have to pay out of state tuition and fees when they want to attend college out of state. But, be here illegally and you get to pay in-state. Yea, I know they did not have control over their parents coming to this country illegally but American children do not have control over being born to poor parents who cannot afford college. What is wrong with us?

[ammo17]

perry just flushed himself down the toilet.14,000,000 americans on unemployment and he wants to help people who should not be here,after bush (8)years and now obama i would never vote for any politician from texas or illinois.

[notreich]

For weeks Perry cockily says he's not backtracking on his outrageous Social Security comments, and then today he pens a piece in USA Today doing exactly that. "Americans must come together and agree to address the problems so today's beneficiaries and tomorrow's retirees really can count on Social Security for the long haul," he wrote. Now does he mean that or what he wrote in his book and has been saying for a long time? In his 2010 book "Fed Up," he called Social Security a socialist "new New Deal relic." He wrote that New Deal-era initiatives like Social Security have spread,"Like a bad disease." (I suppose one of these spreading diseases is Medicare.) He also wrote that Social Security, "is something we have been forced to accept for more than 70 years now." Very recently, he told reporters, "I haven't backed off anything in my book." But now he has backed off and uses a bunch of double-talk to try to convince us that he is the one to "fix" and "save" Social Security. By phasing it out is what he means.

[packeryman]

I have observed Perry for years as an Independent. He became a multimillionaire while in office, no outside businesses. He usually plays to the bible thumpers and tea bagging wacko's. On this issue and the border he is going for the Latino vote. Whatever direction the wind blows Perry goes politically.His actual job creation went down from Bush and Richards records. He has those making minimum wage equal to Mississippi percentage wise and they are on the bottom. Texas has the highest number of uninsured drivers and those without health care insurance in the nation.We rated 27th in education then Perry cut 4 billion in last education budget.That should send us to the bottom. Perry would try to destroy SS/Medicare and all social safety net programs. This negative list go on and on, we think it will be vetted in the coming days.This guy is a slime ball.He may make good photo opts standing down on the border in a leather jacket, if you want another Marlboro Man.

[nearl451]

From outside the Party, this seems the singlemost issue demonstrating that Perry could not be nominated by the GOP nor elected at present: He doesn't hate Mexicans enough, nor blame them for America's woes enough to appease the bloodthirsty rightwing masses, especially the Tea Partiers. I say Mexican, because Tea Partiers certainly aren't targeting illegal Canadians.

I know Bush became President with similar leanings, but that was when the economy was doing OK. Eugenics played a large part in immigration policy during/post Taft (ref. Ellis Island) and seem to be alive and well with some today.

[catmomtx]

But yet he blames President Obama for not securring the border.