To state this in partisan terms, a lot of Republicans don't get that Republican policies don't produce outcomes Republicans want. Sadly, the same can be said of all too many Democrats as well.

Rick Perry and Illegal Immigration

Plenty of folks have objected to Perry's supports for in-state tuition for illegals. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Perry is a full fledged Open Borders activist. He has never seen an immigration law he is willing to enforce. Perry is another mass immigration, cheap labor corporatist, no different than the Bushes (Jeb and George) or Rubio for that matter. Of course, while he loves illegals for cheap labor, he doesn't want them to vote. He pushed hard for, and passed, a Voter Id bill in 2011. A few notes on Perry and illegals.

1. Perry claims that in-state tuition is a "States Rights" issue. Actually, it is not. Federal law specifically prohibits the granting of in-statue tuition to illegals unless the citizens of all states have the same privilege. See "Rick Perry, In-State Tuition, and Federal Law" by Heather MacDonald.

Here is what the law actually says.

“An alien who is not lawfully present in the United States,” declares Section 505 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), “shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State . . . for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident.”

Note that the California Supreme Court ruled otherwise. However, a more germane point is that niether Bush nor Obama has ever tried to enforce the law (by suing the states).

2. Perry has consistently opposed any type of immigration enforcement. He opposes E-verify (because it has been shown to work). He opposes fences (because they work in Israel and the U.S.). He opposes using police to catch illegals (along the lines of SB1070 in Arizona) because it works. What does Perry support? Make believe border enforcement. Perry has asked for 1000 National Guardsmen along the border. That's less than one per mile. Allowing for 3 shifts per day and weekends, that less than one Guardsman for every 5 miles. However, it gets worse. What does the border patrol actually do? It catches illegals and returns them to Mexico so they can try again. Many are caught several times in one day. "It ain't over until the illegal wins" is the Perry way.

3. Perry Perry is about as pro-Amnesty as you can get. He just doesn't have the guts to call it Amnesty. So he talks about "work permits" and waiting in line. Guess what? A work permit makes an illegal alien, a legal resident of the United States. You can use any word or words you like, but Amnesty is still Amnesty. As for "waiting in line"... People who come to this country wait in line at home. Under they Perry plan, the illegals "wait in line" right here in the USA draining our country every day of our taxes, jobs, schools, etc.

4. Perry supports the NAFTA superhighway. Enough said.

5. Don't buy the argument that people feel differently in Texas about immigration. Texas polling data shows immense opposition to illegal immigration. See "UT/TT Poll: An Anti-Immigrant, Anti-Government Mood" by Ross Ramsey over at the Texas Tribune. Texas politicians are a different matter. The cheap labor lobby is (much) stronger in Texas than elsewhere.

6. Perry's job creation record is actually rather poor. A detailed study found that Perry has created two jobs for illegals, for each Job that an American got. Another two jobs went to legal immigrants. In other words, Perry has created 4 jobs for immigrants (half illegal) for each new American job.

7. You can find a rather good video on Perry's record here.