Wednesday, Dec. 07, 2011
Rick Perry's Immigration Overreach
Rick Perry's faltering debate performances are frequently credited with sending his campaign into its autumn nosedive, but it was a crystal-clear defense of his position on in-state college tuition for undocumented immigrants that began his trouble with many conservative voters. In a Sept. 22 debate, the Texas governor admonished critics of that policy in no uncertain terms: "If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state for no other reason than that they've been brought there by no fault of their own," he said, "I don't think you have a heart." Immigration hawks were incensed, and Perry later apologized for the "overpassionate" remark.