Texas Governor Rick Perry was initially asked to meet with President Obama at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport for a 'quick handshake.' Perry declined and told White House adviser Valerie Jarrett that he would be happy to meet with the president for a 'substantive meeting' instead.
The current immigration issue is a big problem for the United States, as an influx of undocumented Latin American children have been making their way into the United States via the country's southwestern border. The president is under pressure from border states to implement preventive measures to stop illegal immigrants.
Perry is convinced President Obama doesn't is not trying to fix the issue and, like many Capital Hill pundits, feels the president may have an 'ulterior motive' for failing to act with urgency on the matter: an end run around Congressional refusal to get behind an amnesty act. Regardless of Perry's beliefs, President Obama (via Jarrett) invited him to a meeting in Dallas with faith leaders and local elected officials to discuss immigration more substantially. Perhaps Perry didn't want to appear complacent on the issue if he merely met Obama at the airport and shook his hand for the sake of a photo op.
"I appreciate the offer to greet you at Austin-Bergstrom Airport, but a quick handshake on the tarmac will not allow for a thoughtful discussion regarding the humanitarian and national security crises enveloping the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas," Perry wrote in a letter to Obama published by the Austin American-Statesman, via this Yahoo! News article.
On Tuesday, it was reported that Obama is seeking $3.7 billion in emergency funding from Congress in order to boost security at the border and deter the unaccompanied children and anyone else attempting to get into the country. Obama plans to spend $1.6 billion of this money on more border patrol agents, immigration judges, and aerial surveillance. However, his fiscal request is double what officials believed would be originally needed.
In addition, $1.8 billion would be allocated to the Department of Health and Human Services to better house and care for adults that are caught traveling with their children, because housing options are running low with the current surge of immigrants. New detention facilities are needed. Another $300 million would be given to the State Department to assist Central American countries and their security measures. Poor security in these nations has played a big role in the problem.
This news might please Perry during the meeting in Dallas on Wednesday, but he will likely have a lot to get off of his chest after being outspoken on the issue for weeks.
You can read more about Rick Perry and Barack Obama in this Fox News article.
