Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday emphasized his record of taking action against illegal immigrants and blasted President Obama for failing to protect the U.S.-Mexico border.
“What we are seeing south of the border is nothing short of a war waged by the narcoterrorists,” the Republican presidential contender told the Values Voter Summit, a conference of conservative voters in Washington.
Perry ticked off a list of laws he signed in Texas that were aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from voting or obtaining drivers’ licenses. He did not address his support for a controversial law that granted reduced tuition rates to students who are illegal immigrants, a policy broadly criticized by Republicans voters.
“Let me say this about border security — I have lived and breathed this issue for a decade,” Perry said. “As a border governor I know first hand the failures of our federal border policies and I know the answer to those failures is not to grant amnesty to those who broke the laws to come into this country.
