Jindal Disagrees With Perry on In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants
EmailLouisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who endorsed Rick Perry last month, voiced his opposition to the Perry-backed Texas legislation that provides in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants.
“I don’t,” Jindal said when asked on FOX News whether he agreed with the governor’s support for the plan. “He and I aren’t going to agree a hundred percent on everything but I do respect the fact that they’ve spent $400 million of Texas taxpayer dollars to help secure the border.”
Perry’s adamant support for the legislation, which offers illegal immigrants access to in-state tuition rates to Texas public colleges and universities, has haunted him since a FOX News debate in Florida last month, with many conservatives throwing criticism at the Texas governor.
Jindal refused to criticize Mitt Romney, who is polling higher than Perry, for hiring a lawn service company that employed illegal immigrants, an attack the Texas governor made on Romney in Tuesday night’s debate in Las Vegas, and instead pointed to both governors’ dedication to strengthening the border.
“I think both Gov. Perry and Gov. Romney understand that President Obama has failed to secure the border, and I think at the end of the day, both these governors understand that we can’t continue to have an open border,” Jindal said. “We need to use whatever it takes to secure our border, stop this problem of illegal immigration. The answer’s not amnesty, and I think both governors understand that.”
But Jindal did express his appreciation for the combative nature of Tuesday night’s debate.
“Presidential politics is kind of like SEC football,” he said, referring to the college conference that includes No. 1 ranked Louisiana State University. ”It’s a contact, full contact sport. It’s a tough battle. For too many years, the Republican party, we’ve kind of pre-selected our candidate. I’m glad there’s a rough-and-tumble debate because that will make our eventual nominee stronger. The reality is we need somebody who’s going to be strong enough to beat President Obama.
“I am supporting Rick Perry,” Jindal said. “I think either of those guys, both of them have been governors, both Gov. Romney and Gov. Perry would be better than President Obama.”
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Do the illegal imigrants who are 18 years old and male register for the draft as our sons do? It seems that there is something wrong when it is possible for my sons to go to war instead of college and to defend someone who is in college and free of that obligation due to their illegal status.
Posted by: Paul | October 21, 2011, 3:13 pm 3:13 pm
Seems to me that Gov. Bobby Jindal wishes he hadn’t endorsed Gov. Rick Perry. It is an embarrassment to endorse someone who has performed so poorly in the debates.
Posted by: John S. | October 21, 2011, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm
Jindal is a complete moron. Does his think that Perry is going to do a 180? Well….er….gee….let’s suck Perry all the way to the White House and find out. I swear there isn’t a high profile office in this country worth the powder to blow them up.
Posted by: ZOO | October 21, 2011, 5:54 pm 5:54 pm
@ Paul: A group in Washington state has been fighting a year-long battle to get a “corrective” measure on the ballot. It seems the Washington voter roles are loaded up with illegal aliens,who when called for jury duty from those roles, get excused on the basis that they are illegal aliens.
Posted by: ZOO | October 21, 2011, 8:29 pm 8:29 pm
I am a hispanic immigrant that entered this blessed nation legally, after years of waiting in my country for the chance to live and work here. I am now a naturalized citizen and 100% against illegal immigration. Let us not be fool, illegal aliens are people whom have chosen to break the law of a foreign nation, simply because they feel that going thru the legal process is too hard for them, so why should they be rewarded?… for the first time in my life, i’m ready to vote for a REpublican candidate, based on my stand against illegal immigration, but if the Republican candidate is someone like Gov. Perry, that supports, protects and even encourages illegal aliesn, WHY WOULD I VOTE FOR HIM?…. of course not! The nation cannot afford another illegal alien supporter in the White House, for heaven’s sake, we already have that and look at the mess the country is in.
Posted by: PEDRO A. | October 22, 2011, 9:41 am 9:41 am