This.
Immigrants come to America for jobs. That’s why illegal immigration dropped during our recession.

If the government punishes employers – harshly – for hiring illegal immigrants, they’ll stop coming.

Deportations, big announcements, etc. don’t matter. Unless they come down on the employers, it’s a smoke screen for intentionally allowing them to come here.

Come on people. The issue is not pandering to voting blocks. The issue is having candidates that actually support (and have a record of supporting) a limited government, free market, balanced budget, low tax philosophy. Did Mitt Romney have such a record? Did John McCain? Did GWB? Did Bob Dole? Did GHWB? The problem isn’t the philosophy. And no, I’m not saying “we need Ronald Reagan.” I’m saying that we need to start nominating candidates who actually support our philosophy. Stop supporting people because they are really strong on one of them and suck on the rest. Stop pretending that the most important issue is abortion and gay marriage. We’re not going to stop either one of those. Find a Rand Paul/Marco Rubio/Bobby Jindal that will run for president and then support them! Not just with what you say, but with your time, money, and energy. The right candidate explaining true libertarian conservative ideas will win big.

Just want to say once again, that had Romney won 40% of the Latino vote he would not have carried any state he lost. None. And had he won 60% of the Latino vote, he would have only won 3 more states. He still would have lost Ohio and Virginia and the election.

And the media starts screaming about “self-deportation”…

I’m hispanic and conservative, when I was in school here in south Texas our school took us on a field trip to a democratic convention, where WE were brain washed, our democratic house rep. Also gave speeches at our school telling us the dem cared and republicans were for the rich. it’s when I came to Houston that I realized I had more in common with republicans ! A majority of Hispanics are conservative, just don’t realize their in the wrong party! the dems just get them early, Jr high early!

Won’t happen. Perry is a great state govenor who knows exactly how to manage Texas; look at all the the young Hispanic republicans we have (which the MSM says don;t exist).
However, it takes a different set of “chops” to RUN for President. He doesn’t have them. He could BE president, but he’s no good at RUNNING for president.
The “heart” comment was an error on a technical level, it should be said. The economic argument against illegals getting in state tuition is that they don’t pay taxes. That’s only true if the state has an income tax. In Texas, illegals contribute to Texas universities in exactly the same way as any other Texan, and they are entitled to benefit from what they contributed into. That was the RIGHT response, and he punted it.

We shouldn’t embrace amnesty. We should embrace the principle that each state ought to decide for themselves how they are going to work with the Feds and administer their illegal population. 10th amendment. That IS the conservative principle, no just on this but on abortion and gay marriage as well — that WE NATIONALLY have an opinion on it, but our PARTY PRINCIPLE is that we support or oppose no law on the national level that regulates these social matters (illegal immigration is a bit more complicated than that, granted, but the general principle applies.)