Texas Gov. Perry: ‘Boots Needed on the Ground’

Texas Gov. Rick Perry says the Obama administration has been uncommunicative when it comes to border security and “you need boots on the ground” to protect the boundary with Mexico. Perry also told Fox News’ Greta van Susteren on Wednesday that a border fence and technology are not enough.
 

“It’s pretty difficult to correspond with this administration,” Perry said, adding that the border is too open. “There’s too many egress points, and none of the gates are closed. You can see how that gate is wide open right there — it’s never closed. You can’t deny the access to the landowners, so there’s really no point. You can walk through that gate.

“That’s our point about having boots on the ground — you cannot secure a border with just technology, or just fences, or just aviation assets, for that matter,” Perry said. “You have to have boots on the ground. So we’re spending millions down there building this fence, and I’ll guarantee you, you know, the 15-foot ladder business is going to get good on that 14-foot fence.”

Border security is one of the key responsibilities of the federal government — and something the administration is supposed to take more seriously, Perry said.

“You know, there are a few things that the federal government is supposed to really be good at — border security is one of them,” he said. “Now, they spend a lot of time and money on things [the] federal government needs to be involved with — whether it’s, you know, energy policy, or healthcare delivery, or transportation, or how to educate our children. And it’s — for me, it’s an issue of priorities.

“So the president of the United States and Congress, one of their major priorities should be keeping the citizens safe, securing that border, before they ever spend a dime for helping another country come up with how to do deepwater drilling, the way the president did with Brazil last month,” Perry said. “That is one of the constitutional duties the federal government’s supposed to do. The states need to be doing the healthcare, educating our children — but it’s not our duty to defend that border.”