Rick Perry says he didn't think 'an Arizona-exact law' was right for Texas. Perry sounds off on immigration, war

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Taking questions from reporters for the first time since Monday as he wrapped up a campaign swing here, Texas Gov. Rick Perry defended and expanded on his record on immigration policy — a record with positions that some of the Republican base rejects.

As governor, Perry’s supported allowing illegal immigrants to get in-state tuition rates at Texas universities and opposed Arizona’s strict state immigration law — despite signing a law in Texas that critics call similarly repressive.


“Here’s what you need to understand about me, is I’m a big believer in the 10th Amendment,” Perry said. States are the ones that should decide how they set university tuition rates and how they enforce immigration laws, he said.

“I didn’t think that the state of Texas, an Arizona-exact law was right for the state of Texas,” he said. “I didn’t want to make our law enforcement officers federal immigration officers. So state-by-state ought to be the way to do that, not by the federal government, one-size-fits-all.”

But Perry called for federal involvement on the issue when a reporter pointed out that the Constitution assigns the federal government responsibility for immigration.

“Once we secure the border, we can have a conversation about immigration reform in this country, but not until. You must have the federal government putting the resources, the boots on the ground, the aviation assets in the air, and secure that border so that we know the border is secure before we have a conversation about any immigration reform,” he said.

To a follow-up about whether illegal immigrants who serve in the armed forces should be allowed to become citizens, he said, “Yes sir, I think there is a path to citizenship for those young men and women who have served their country.”

Perry also took questions about how he would handle the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. He gestured to his military background as “a fellow who volunteered to serve at the end of the Vietnam conflict” and said he would follow the advice of commanders in the field.

He blasted President Barack Obama’s plans for phased withdrawal. “I think the president made a huge mistake by signaling the enemy that we’re going to leave at a particular time,” Perry said. “That’s bad public policy, but more importantly, it put our kids in harm’s way.”

As for the flak he’s taken on his first week on the presidential campaign trail for suggesting violence against Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and questioning global warming, the Texas governor refused to back down, saying he was simply voicing voters’ concerns.

“I’m passionate about the Obama administration’s monetary policy. That’s what that conversation was. That’s what my remarks were about, and I think Americans are concerned about the monetary policy,” Perry told reporters about his statement that the Fed’s quantitative easing plans were “treasonous.”

Responding to POLITICO’s report that Republicans in Congress were worried about the comments, Perry said, “You know, I’m sorry if I offended a congressman, but the fact of the matter is I’m about representing the American people out here. And the American people are really concerned and scared.

Small businessmen and women are frightened about the monetary policy or the lack thereof with this administration.”

As for presidential rival Jon Huntsman, who has blasted the Texan as anti-science for questioning global warming, Perry shrugged him off too.

“Jon’s got to make his own decision,” Perry said in response. “I just happen to believe that the earth’s temperature has been moving up and down for millenniums now, and there are enough scientists out there that are skeptical about the reasons for it, and I happen to be one of those that are skeptical. For us to spend billions of dollars on a theory that is not proven and that you have skeptical scientists against, that is not in America’s best interest.”

Perry’s visit to this town on the North Carolina border marked the end of a two-day swing through South Carolina. He was set to return to Austin on Saturday afternoon.