ORLANDO, Fla. - Rick Perry and Mitt Romney clashed bitterly over how to handle illegal immigration, as Romney charged that Texas' in-state tuition plan for children of undocumented immigrants was a "magnet" for bringing them into the country.
No, Perry shot back, the policy shows he has compassion. The two front-runners were among nine Republican presidential candidates debating Thursday.
"If you say we should not educate children who come into our state by no fault of their own, I don't think you have a heart," Perry said. "We need to educate these children or they will be a drag on society."
They're already a drag on society, Romney suggested.
The tuition policy is the "kind of magnet (that) draws people into this country, and it makes no sense."
Getting tough with illegal immigrants is highly popular among the conservatives Romney is courting - and who have been warming to Perry lately.
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Perry also got blasted by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who called him "soft" on immigration.
Earlier in the debate, Perry and Romney renewed their bitter battle over Social Security, as Perry tried hard to defend himself against charges that he wants to change the popular pension program and Romney kept attacking.
Debating in a state where one-third of Republican primary voters in 2008 were over 65, Perry said state employees and retirees could have the option of forgoing Social Security and using state employee retirement plans.
No, said Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, the Texas governor wants more changes than that. He said that Perry has said that the program is unconstitutional and that federal government should not be in the pension business.
"You better find that Rick Perry and get him to stop saying that," Romney said.
Perry then tried to turn the discussion to health care. As governor, Romney approved near-universal health care for Massachusetts residents, a law widely regarded as the model for the 2010 federal health-care law that Republicans despise.
"I believe in what I did," Romney insisted. He has said that each state should decide what kind of health plan fits it best.
The exchange between the two GOP front-runners was the liveliest early exchange of a debate between nine candidates. The nine took turns offering remedies for the nation's ailing economy.
Perry was asked for details on how he'd jolt the economy. He said those details were forthcoming, but for now, he pointed to Texas' economy.
That economy, he said, got a boost from low taxes and a regulatory climate friendly to business.
"If it will work in the state of Texas, it will work in Washington, D.C.," he said.
Romney earlier this month offered a 160-page plan for repairing the economy. Among its proposals: No taxes on dividends, capital gains or interest for people earning less than $200,000.
"The people who have been hurt most by the president's economy, the Obama economy, is the middle class. That's why I cut taxes for the middle class," he said.
Romney was asked to define rich. "I don't try and define who's rich and who's not rich. I want everybody in America to be rich," he said.
Texas Rep. Ron Paul drew cheers when asked about returning power to the states.
He called that a "crucial" subject, adding, "We have no controls of spending, taxes, regulation, no control in the Federal Reserve printing money. So if we want government, whether it is medical care or whatever, it is proper to do it at the local level as well as our schools."
On StarNet: Take an interactive look at the race for the GOP presidential nomination at azstarnet.com/multimedia
