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Will Immigration Reform Affect the Upcoming Elections?

With President Obama’s presidency slowly winding down, and campaigns for the next president gaining momentum, it is only appropriate to evaluate how each presidential candidate will handle immigration reform. There are many speculations about who will and won’t run, and it might be too soon to tell exactly who will run, but there have been some speculations about who is thinking about representing each party. According to the rumor mill, Texas governor Rick Perry is a potential candidate for the Republican Party, and immigration has been something that he has dealt with for a long time.

Considering that Texas’ population is 30% Hispanic, and that Texas has the largest border with Mexico, it makes sense that Rick Perry has had to deal with immigration while he has been in office. Although the governor has been quite the vocal critic when it comes to immigration and the federal government, it is in fact one of the reasons he dropped out of the race for president back in 2012. Although the jury is still out on what exactly caused the downfall of his campaign, his “soft” approach on immigration might have had something to do with it. The word soft being used completely subjectively. Many democrats believe that Perry’s stance on immigration was far too harsh, many conservatives claimed that it was in fact not tough enough.  Back in 2001 Perry not only supported, but still defends to this day, a bill that allows students that came to Texas as a child, that are working towards citizenship, to get in state tuition for college. When Mitt Romney opposed this law, saying that it was in a way granting amnesty, Perry came back saying that not allowing these young people the opportunity to better themselves when they had no say as to whether or not they came into the country is heartless. Perry is also a big advocate for securing the border and having boots on the ground at all times.

Some may say that Rick Perry is too tough in terms of immigration, while others will say that he isn’t tough enough. When it comes time for the election it is important that people look at the facts and make educated decisions as to who they vote for, whatever way that might be.