Rick Perry's Border Campaign -- For President?
So, it appears, is the price of action. Perry gave no indication in his news conference of where the $12 million per month for calling up the Guard would come from. He said only that he hoped the federal government would eventually reimburse the state.
Two Texas lawmakers, Republican Sen. John Cornyn and Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar are sponsoring bills to reimburse the state. In the meantime, Perry is pursuing his drastic action without knowing who will pay for it. He sounds like a Washingtonian already.
By contrast, President George W. Bush also sent 6,000 National Guardsmen to the border in 2006 for Operation Jump Start, which also built new security fences and surveillance equipment. But at least Bush's plan included funding.
President Barack Obama also wants to provide more border security. He supports the comprehensive immigration reform bill that passed the Senate with bipartisan support. It would send an additional 20,000 Border Patrol agents to the border, among other security improvements. It would also provide various pathways to legal status for the nation's estimated 11 million undocumented residents.
But House Republicans have stalled the Senate measure amid election-year pressures from their conservative base, leaving the bill's future uncertain.
Since the latest refugee crisis erupted, Obama also has asked Congress for $3.7 billion to pay for more border security, temporary detention centers and additional immigration court judges to process asylum cases and speed up deportations.
But congressional Republicans have balked again, calling the package too costly and too light on measures to speed up the return of undocumented asylum seekers, young and old.
For now, Obama is scheduled to meet with the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to discuss new partnerships to stem the refugee tide and its root causes, particularly violent drug gangs. Many of the drug gangsters received their street schooling in the United States before they were deported back home. The refugee tide is, in many ways, our own failed drug policies coming home to roost.
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E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@tribune.com.
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