Tampa, Florida – In a political debate sponsored by the “Tea Party” and CNN, the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination stated their positions on September 12th on illegal immigration in this beautiful Florida city.

The candidates present were Perry, Romney, Bachmann, Gingrich, Santorum, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, and Herman Cain.

Rick Perry, governor of Texas, was the target, being questioned about illegal immigration, social security, and support for the controversial vaccination of Texas students against the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease that can degenerate into cervical cancer and to sign the DREAM Act Texas in 2001, which gave support to some children of illegal immigrants.

“The conclusion is that it makes no difference to the sound of his name. That’s the American way,” said Perry. ”I am proud that we have these people as contributors to our society.”
Tea Party Activists present booed Perry because of his support on this policy. They argued that is an incentive for immigrants to enter the country illegally. Perry said not not to be in favor of an amnesty for illegal immigrants. ”The American style is not to provide taxpayer-subsidized benefits to people who have broken our laws, or who are here in the U.S. illegally,” said Michele Bachmann. Perry has stolen the attention since he entered the Republican race last month.

Perry also sparked controversy by saying that to secure the border the country will need enough “boots on the ground.” 
 Several of his opponents disagreed, arguing that the right approach to quell illegal immigration would be to build a fence along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Perry has considered the idea, especially in rural areas, as “absurd” and said he is the candidate with the most experience in dealing with border security and immigration.

On both issues, the governor is out of step with much of the conservative wing of the Republican Party. It is unclear if this will affects Perry during the primaries.
Being the governor of a state with many Hispanics, Perry has moderated his approach to immigration policy by simple pragmatism, said James Henson, director of the Policy at the University of Texas at Austin.Latinos represent nearly 40% of the population of Texas, and Perry won 38% of the vote in their fight against the Democratic governor Bill White in 2010. 
 Entrepreneurs Texans today benefit from the cheap labor and trade Mexico.

Source: CNN