Yet another sign Gov. Rick Perry's presidential campaign is facing challenges: Conservative students from his beloved alma mater are criticizing him for supporting in-state tuition rates for some undocumented students.
"The fact that he continues to defend his stance is troubling," said Justin Pulliam, a member of the Texas Aggie Conservatives. "He's not an all-around conservative candidate."
The student group has started a petition requesting that Perry, a Class of 1972 Aggie, call a special legislative session to end in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.
Perry's office said a special session is not expected for any reason.
Perry is a supporter of a state law that allows some students here illegally who meet certain conditions -- including living in Texas the three years leading up to high school graduation and signing an affidavit indicating intent to apply for permanent resident status -- to receive the reduced tuition rate.
In-state tuition at Texas A&M costs roughly $5,200, while out-of-state tuition runs $19,600. In fiscal year 2010, Texas A&M had roughly 300 of the 12,000 students statewide benefiting under the law.
In a GOP debate last month, Perry said opponents of in-state college tuition for the children of illegal immigrants were heartless. Amid an uproar from his party, Perry backtracked, telling conservative magazine Newsmax that he was "a bit over-passionate" and what he said was "inappropriate."
Lucy Nashed, a Perry spokeswoman, said in a statement that the governor has made border law enforcement a priority, including spending more than $400 million on border security, sending special Texas Rangers units to the border, and cracking down on businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants.
Nashed also said Perry opposes the DREAM Act, federal legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for some undocumented students.
"He supports sending thousands more federal troops to the border, using strategic fencing and leveraging aerial surveillance technology to secure the border," Nashed wrote.
Texas A&M hosted a seminar last month about the DREAM Act. The Aggie Conservatives released a video from the event in which Michael Olivas, a University of Houston professor, praises Perry for being "absolutely correct and courageous on this particular point."
"It's shocking that a presidential candidate in the GOP primary is being praised and congratulated by liberal Democrats for his immigration policy," Pulliam said.
Pulliam, who now is an officer for the group but recently served as chair, said the group plans to officially endorse a candidate in the coming weeks, but that he personally is leaning toward Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza.
"I think Herman Cain is the best all-around conservative in the race," Pulliam said.
Pulliam said that when Perry first entered the race, people saw him as a "very conservative, down-to-earth person."
"As people started researching what he had done in the past, and didn't do too well in debates, people started realizing that his record did not match his rhetoric," Pulliam said.
Perry got some support from some students here illegally, including Jose Zelaya, a senior education major who was part of a "coming out" rally at Texas A&M in April to announce he was undocumented.
"He's standing for what he believes," Zelaya said. "He has seen it work in Texas. If you have an uneducated society, what's going to happen with the crime rate? It's going to go up. The dropout rate? That's going to increase."
Regarding Perry's stance on the DREAM Act, "It doesn't really make sense you support someone while they're going to school but are opposed to them working after they graduate. We need the entire thing," Zelaya said. "Once you're running for the office he's running for, you have to be very careful. There's a lot of politics he has to deal with and a lot of people in his party that don't support it."
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