Presidential candidate and Texas Gov. Rick Perry is taking heat from many in his own party for supporting a state policy giving in-state tuition rates to children of illegal immigrants.
But while this position may be seen as favorable for Latinos – a large majority of Texas’ illegal immigrants are Latino, with more than 60 percent of them hailing from Mexico alone, according to the Pew Hispanic Center – it hasn’t gained him much Latino support in his own state.
Almost two-thirds of Latino voters in Texas vote Democratic, and Latinos overwhelmingly vote against Perry, a Republican.
In a GOP presidential debate last month, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney criticized Perry for supporting Texas’ illegal-immigrant tuition policy. Perry responded this way: “If you say that we should not educate children who have come into our state … by no fault of their own, I don’t think you have a heart.”
After the debate, Perry fell from frontrunner status.
Some Texas Latinos came out in support of Perry’s stand in that debate, including state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio.
“I was happy to hear that,” Villarreal said of Perry’s in-debate response. “I thought, wow, this is the first time I’ve seen Gov. Perry take a position based on principle at a political cost.”
But Villarreal also said Perry’s policy priorities, especially cuts to education, have hurt Latino families in Texas.
“I look at the policy outcomes of the last legislative session, and think this is the exact opposite of what Hispanic families want for them and their children,” Villarreal said.
And many Latino voters apparently feel the same. So what does this mean for Perry and the rest of the GOP? Click the audio player to hear the rest of the story from CNN Radio's John Sepulvado:
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If you don't like the policies please feel free to get the @#$% out.
"Real american": you are a real dumb mother#$#%
Why? when we can change them.
This is what I been saying for 8 years. Republicans wanted all this cheap illegal labor from people who would vote against them once Regan gave them amnesty. What a bunch of morons. Fix the border before it's to late Republican's.
Because, you moron, there are more of us than there are of you. And all the Republican talk about building a wall from here to eternity does not endear any of the Republicans to Latinos. The variations on the theme of what to do about "them" only serves to further empower the Latino poulation and galvanizes the knowledge that we have power yet unexercised.
You see, "Real American", there are many Latinos here who are educated (I am an attorney and criminal prosecutor, as well as a columnist), and we are in every single socio-economic level of this society. Unlike yourself, we are able to discern issues and indignities which are wrought upon us (feel free to consult a disctionary any time you like, I know it's rough when you have not even got your GED), and those are not readily forgotten.
There will be no one leaving this country–so get used to it. And why do you not try the backbreaking, thankless work of picking crops in the fields? That is, if anyone will have you. And it beats the welfare you are probably receiving.
So perry was trying to buy votes and it backfired, sorry Rick.
Jbblineman go clean your out your hoarded mobile home and smoke some meth. Bigot. See how stereo typical one can be?
Annnnddddd ... that is why so many Americans are thrilled you and your enormous family want you to go back to Mexico or whatever else craphole hispanic country you emigrated from.
This is just for you. Perry doesn't have a latino problem, the entire country has a latino problem! Far too many of them, legal or not, and they are slowly changing our country and its culture.. Visitors from outerspace 50 years from now will thnk they landed in Mexico.
@chefdugan
If your space folks landed in America 300 years ago they would have seen native american culture...150 years ..a slave culture. OH, and a Mexican culture in the western parts since they owned it. 100 years, perhaps an Italian, Irish, or German culture. So I guess "what comes around ...goes ...etc" . Your generation may not like it, but the next won't give a damn...And I know your extraterrestrials could care less.
Hi"people from India are invading us,
You are categorzing a group of people who come here LEGALLY, and get employed If the Companies want them and they pay taxes. Most of the students go back to India. If you are angry with the Indians i can understand. However, the majority is against ILLEGALS. You are an exception; there may be a rotten egg among thousands of eddible eggs.
Thayer: who is pushing their culture on you? Why would Mexicans want someone like you to even try to understand what culture is? You probably don't even know the definition of culture.
For those of you who think that illegal immigrants don't contribute at the federal level, consider this. A lot of them use fake social security cards and then pay into social security using those fake numbers. When the federal government realizes the card numbers are non-existent, those monies go into a special fund that is used to pay out benefits. The illegals will contribute but will never collect social security. Some of them simply save their wages like you wouldn't believe and then take their savings to happily retire in Mexico. But the money they contributed into social security stays here.
@ becer: criticizing spelling? Did you see your own spelling?:"what school you go to?" Correction: what's school did (do) you go to? So tell me which one did you go to?
Texas has a problem with Rick Perry....
I bet millions of illegal Mexicans vote but do we really care?
So in Alabama all the crops of tomato are rotting because all the inmigrants that pick it up left due to the new law that was passed. Now the state is going to provide workers for the farmers. I wonder who it will be...
Convicts...
American citizens.
You have a lot of people sitting in the jails use them. Why not they sit there and do nothing most of the day, but there butts to work
Why all the derogatory comments about race and foreign nationals who are here legally. It's one thing to rant about illegals...but come on. Most who are legally either pay big bucks to attend prestigious Universities or are employed by multinational corporations. It appears that bigotry never dies. If an individual doesn't look like you, smell like you, dress like you, talk like you.....they are somehow inferior to you. Take your 12-pack and go back to your trailer park.
I don't have time to read this, what is Perry's Latino problem? I'm betting its that they exist?
The mess that is Texas. Perry blamed the Mexicans for the flu a couple of years ago. Does anyone remember that? Total bigot. And chief spokesman for the Tea Bigot Party
And here we have the typical Republican racist. Did you know that, statistically, most whites won't go to college either?
I don't get the government's infatuation with Mexico lately. Lot of money and efforts going to Mexico while us, the 99%, struggles to support our families and send our kids to school or college.