Perry Doubles Down On Support For Illegal Alien Kids

23 Sep, 2011 by William Teach

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Unless something big happens, I do believe the GOP will start looking more towards Mitt Romney over Rick Perry, especially when we get things like this

Rick Perry went out on a limb Thursday by refusing to back off his support as Texas governor for granting in-state tuition to some of the children of illegal immigrants, and painting critics of the law as heartless – remarks that landed him in the crosshairs of his GOP rivals.

The three-term Texas governor said he still supports the program “greatly” and that the Lone Star State needs “to be educating these children because otherwise they’ll “become a drag on society.”

“If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than they’ve been brought there by no fault of their own, I don’t think you have a heart,” Mr. Perry said.

I guess I’m heartless. Of course, this isn’t about heart: it’s about The Law. The intention of the Founders, the fuddy duddy old powder wig wearing men of yesteryear, was to create a nation of Law, not a nation of Men. And as soon as we start thinking strictly with our heart strings, reason and law go out the window.

Sure, the kids of illegals aren’t at fault for being brought to the United States by their law breaking parents. That doesn’t mean we are responsible for educating them, and especially not giving them in-state tuition. In most states, including Texas, it is damned hard to get in-state tuition of you came from another state. A college kid would need to change their residence and pay for the college all on their own without help from someone outside the state in order to be even considered for in-state tuition (which is subsidized by the taxpayer).

The stance also put Mr. Perry at odds with a chunk of the audience, which booed, and opened him up to attacks from the Republican field, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who said the law carries an annual price tag of $22,000 per student and acts as a magnet for illegal immigrants.

“If you’re a United States citizen from any one of the other 49 states, you have to pay $100,000 more,” Mr. Romney said, alluding to the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition at the University of Texas over four years. “That doesn’t make sense to me. That kind of magnet draws people into this country to get that education, to get the $100,000 break. It makes no sense.”

And that kind of stance concerns me in that Perry could be in favor of passing some sort of DREAM Act legislation, giving the children of illegals a quick pathway to citizenship while subsidizing their lives. And a DREAM Act would also mean that we’d use our hearts to say “well, the kid is trying to be a citizen: it’d be mean to deport their families.” It’s a dangerous road which uses emotion over law, and changes/creates law with emotion.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.