Rick Perry Continues to Oppose DREAM Act and Sanctuary Cities

John Hawkins at Right Wing News interviewed Governor Rick Perry this week on immigration issues. If you’re wondering where Rick Perry stands, you will have a better idea after reading this interview.
Here is part of that discussion:

The real question becomes what can we expect from Rick Perry on the issue if he becomes President? That question had yet to be answered — until today. I was pleased to get an opportunity to do an in-depth written interview with Rick Perry that covers his position on illegal immigration. If you’re wondering where Rick Perry stands, after reading this interview, you will know.

1. You supported the Texas version of the DREAM ACT which incidentally, was very popular in your state. It passed 27-3 in the Senate and 130-2 in the House. However, you would not support the DREAM ACT nationally if you became President of the United States. Why is that?

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.

In Texas, we had to deal with the children of illegal immigrants residing in our state and attending our schools, as the federal government requires states to educate these children through the public school system. Lawmakers in Texas – indisputably one of the most conservative states in America – were virtually unanimous in their decision.

The Legislature determined the payment of in-state college tuition is available to all students who have lived in Texas for at least three years and graduated from a public high school. If you meet those requirements, you pay in-state tuition, whether you relocated from Oklahoma, Idaho, Canada or Mexico. The only difference is that Texas residents who aren’t documented must be on the path to pursue U.S. citizenship to be allowed to pay in-state tuition.

There were a number of reasons the bill received widespread support among conservatives. Importantly, it has never had a cost to Texas taxpayers. In fact, our institutions of higher learning would actually lose tens of millions of dollars in lost tuition payments if the law were repealed.

And it would lower the odds that these students would receive subsidized health care or end up in prison. Protecting taxpayers was a serious concern, given that a Supreme Court decree already requires taxpayers to pay for K-12 education for undocumented students.

3. Now you worked to outlaw sanctuary cities in Texas. Tell us why that is.

I called for abolishing sanctuary cities in my last State of the State address, and made it an emergency item for the Legislature. I’m a firm believer in giving law enforcement the discretion they need to do their job. Sanctuary city policies handcuff law enforcement officers in order to further a political agenda.

Read the rest here.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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