Protesters greet Romney at Pearl

Protesters Freddy Frederickson (from left), Daniel Jefferson and Devin Nixon protest at the Pearl Stable while Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney visits San Antonio for a fundraiser. Protesters Freddy Frederickson (from left), Daniel Jefferson and Devin Nixon protest at the Pearl Stable while Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney visits San Antonio for a fundraiser. Photo: John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News Photo: John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Protesters greet Romney at Pearl 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Members of the “99 percent” greeted Mitt Romney Thursday as the presidential hopeful made his way to the Pearl Stable for a private fundraiser before heading to Houston to accept an endorsement from former President George H.W. Bush.

About 100 protesters chanting “pay your fair share,” turned out in support of the Buffett rule, a progressive tax proposal in President Barack Obama's budget plan named for billionaire investor Warren Buffett. The law would require millionaires to pay a minimum tax rate of 30 percent.

Romney, whose net worth is estimated between $190 million and $250 million, released tax returns showing he paid 13.9 percent in 2010. Most of his income is in the form of capital gains on investment income, which generally is taxed at 15 percent.

Senate Democrats plan to bring the Buffett rule to the floor in April on Tax Day.

Republicans have decried the proposed rule as “class warfare,” and say the estimated $47 billion in additional revenue it could bring is trivial against the federal budget deficit, which is projected to rise to $7 trillion over the next 11 years.

Proponents of the DREAM Act, which Romney opposes, also gathered at The Pearl, including state Rep. Joaquín Castro and former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez.

The law, which was rejected by Congress in 2010, would offer a path to citizenship for children brought to the United States without documentation, who graduate high school and attend college or join the military. Backers vow to revive it.

Alina Cortez, a student at Texas A&M-San Antonio, joined the rally for DREAM Act support.

Cortez, a self-described conservative Republican, is an undocumented immigrant who came to Texas at age 9 with her parents. “Romney doesn't understand that the DREAM Act isn't a hand-out,” she said Thursday. “We want to work hard for this country.”

Romney did not address the crowd or the media. He left San Antonio following the luncheon to accept the formal endorsement of former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush in Houston.

“I do think it's time for the party to get behind Gov. Romney,” Bush said. He then offered an old Kenny Rogers lyric: “You've got to know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em.”

Romney was grateful for the support.

“This is an election about the course of America. And I think we're on a very dangerous path, and I think it's important for us to select a nominee, and to get on with a campaign which will focus on two very different visions for America.”

thamilton@express-news.net

Twitter @saen_thamilton

Joe Holley in Houston contributed to this report.

The federal budget deficit is projected to rise to $7 trillion over the next 11 years. A story on Friday's page B1 of the Express-News and on mySA.com about a visit by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to San Antonio misstated the amount.