Rick Perry says that as governor of Texas he took action against illegal immigration unlike the "rhetoric" of his GOP presidential rival Donald Trump.
Asked about Trump Wednesday on
CNN's "The Situation Room," Perry said, "I'm focused on talking to the American people about the only person that's going to be standing on that stage that actually has done something about border security, not just talked about it."
Perry deployed the Texas National Guard, Texas Rangers and Parks and Wildlife wardens last summer after Perry's attempts to get President Barack Obama to take action on the border failed. His actions came as children and mothers flooded the border from Central American countries in hopes of finding amnesty.
"If you want to talk about border security, there's only one individual in this country that's been engaged with it and had some success with it. I know how to do this," Perry said.
Trump says he will build a "great wall" from Texas to California to keep illegal immigrants out – and
he will force Mexico to pay for it.
"Rhetoric's not going to do it. Action is going to be what's going to be required," Perry told CNN. "A wall without personnel there means nothing. You build a 30-foot wall, and the 35-foot ladder business gets good."
Trump's rhetoric has helped shoot him to the top of the GOP field. He is
currently leading in two national polls.
Perry said he doesn't expect those current numbers to hold as other candidates such as himself share their vision for the country.
"Mine will be a positive vision about the great opportunities economically," he said. "The fact is America is not going to be secure until we have an economy that allows us to bring the resources into this country so that we can rebuild our military, so we can send a message to allies that America will be strong again and stand up with our allies."
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