Texas Governor Rick Perry found himself in the hot seat regarding his stance on the growing number of unaccompanied children crossing the border into the United States during an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz.
Raddatz tore into Perry when he insisted the problem was the result of “a failure of leadership from the administration in Washington, DC” and a lack of adequate border security.
Raddatz dismissed that claim, reminding Perry that the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, passed under President Bush, required those seeking asylum be given proper due process of law:
But Governor, this — this is about a law. This isn’t necessarily about Border Patrol. This is about a law. […] They have to let these people into the country when they’re from non-contiguous nations, when they’re from Central America or South America. Should that law be changed?”
Perry tried to change the subject, but Raddatz refused to let him off the hook:
PERRY: The rule of law is that “The Constitution” requires the United States to secure the border. And we’re not doing that. We haven’t done it for years. And we are paying a huge price. When you have catch and release policies that send…
RADDATZ: But — but, Governor, please…
PERRY: — a message to people…
RADDATZ: — go back to the law…
PERRY: — in Central America…
RADDATZ: — the 2008 law that was signed into law by George Bush.
Raddatz tried to steer Perry back to the Reauthorization Act, suggesting the real problem was a “backlog in the courts” that needed to be “addressed first.”
Perry continued to try to dodge the question, accusing President Obama about not caring about border security:
What has to be addressed is the security of the border. You know that. I know that. The president of the United States knows that. I don’t believe he particularly cares whether or not the border of the United States is — is secure. And that’s the reason there’s been this lack of effort, this lack of focus, this lack of resources…”
Raddatz pushed back again telling Perry that Obama is “telling people not to come,” that he has been “telling them in ads not to come into the United States, not to leave their homes.”
Again, Perry deflected, stating: “About — about five years too late would be my response to that. The president has sent powerful messages time after time by his policies, by nuances, that it is OK to come to the United States and you can come across and you’ll be accepted in open arms. That is the real issue.”
Next Raddatz asked Perry about a recent interview on Fox News in which he claimed in a clip she played that there the real problem was a conspiracy at the federal level:
The federal government is just absolutely failing. We either have an incredibly inept administration, or they’re in on this somehow or another. I mean I hate to be conspiratorial, but I mean how do you move that many people from Central America across Mexico and then into the United States without there being a fairly coordinated effort”
Raddatz tried to give Perry an opportunity to back down from that claim asking: “Governor, do you really believe there’s some sort of conspiracy to get people into the United States by the federal government, by the Obama administration?” but Perry dug his heels in stating:
When I have — when I have written a letter that is dated May of 2012, and I have yet to have a response from this administration, I will tell you they either are inept or don’t care, and that is my position.
We have been bringing to the attention of President Obama and his administration since 2010, he received a letter from me on the tarmac. He sends — I have to believe that when you do not respond in any way, that you are either inept, or you have some ulterior motive of which you are functioning from.
So the issue is, this president understands now that we have a huge problem on our southern border. We have to deal with it. And I don’t think you’re going to be able to address it until you put the resources there, and that’s boots on the ground. We’re asking for the FAA to allow for drones to be used.
Unless we secure our southern border, this is going to continue to be a massive amount of individuals that are coming to the United States. And, frankly, we don’t have a place to house them as it is. And if we have a major event, a hurricane that comes in to the Gulf Coast, I don’t have a place to be housing people who are displaced.
At this point, Raddatz concluded the interview, thanking Perry for appearing:
RADDATZ: OK, governor, I’m going to have to stop you there.
PERRY: This administration is housing them.
RADDATZ: I’m going to have to stop you there. But thank you very much for joining us.
PERRY: Martha, thank you. Yes, ma’am.
You can watch the battle below:
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