Perry fears Islamists at border

Terrorists could be crossing to U.S. from Mexico, he says

Texas Gov. Rick Perry gestures as he speaks at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, about that he would be open to sending U.S. combat forces to Iraq to fight the deadly Islamic state after its attacks on a Christian minority and the beheading of an American journalist and border security. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Texas Gov. Rick Perry gestures as he speaks at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014, about that he would be open to sending U.S. combat forces to Iraq to fight the deadly Islamic state after its attacks on a Christian minority and the beheading of an American journalist and border security. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON -- Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, on Thursday raised the "very real possibility" that individuals affiliated with the Islamic State and other terrorist groups have slipped across the border as he made the case that border security was a pressing national security issue.

While Perry said there was "no clear evidence" recruits from terrorist organizations had entered the United States illegally, he pointed to the number of violent crimes committed in recent years by illegal aliens.

"I think there is the obvious, great concern that -- because of the condition of the border from the standpoint of not being secure and us not knowing who is penetrating across -- that individuals from ISIS or other terrorist states could be," he said during a speech at the Heritage Foundation, referring to the Islamic State.

To bolster border security, the United States should add more law enforcement personnel there and use drones to monitor the situation, Perry said.

Perry also pressed for a more aggressive U.S. military response in Iraq to combat the Islamic State, including a sustained air campaign, and signaled he would support sending American ground troops.

"We need to have all of our options open," Perry told a standing-room-only crowd.

Perry also faulted President Barack Obama for not providing arms to Syrian rebels battling forces loyal to President Bashar Assad early on in the 3-year-old civil war. He derided Obama's insistence that "Assad must go" as "an opinion, not a policy."

The Islamic State built itself up in Syria during the civil war before crossing the border to take control of large areas of territory in neighboring Iraq.

In his speech, Perry described the militants as one of the most serious threats to Americans after the beheading of an American journalist.

"We have a vital stake here, reluctant as we might be," he said.

On immigration, Perry dismissed any discussion of comprehensive immigration reform that is stalled in Congress, saying the border must be secured first. He said Obama has a constitutional obligation to protect the border.

The speech came after Perry pleaded innocent Tuesday to two felony counts of abusing his power after being indicted by a grand jury last Friday, making him the first Texas governor to face criminal charges in nearly a century. Perry has called the charges a farce and is contemplating a second run for the Republican presidential nomination.

Perry opened his remarks by addressing the indictment, saying he is "very confident" and dismissing the charges for what he called "an exercise of my constitutional veto authority."

The charges stem from the governor's efforts to force Rosemary Lehmberg, a district attorney, to resign after she was arrested and charged with drunken driving. Perry threatened to eliminate the funding for her office unless she resigned and when she refused, he vetoed $7.5 million destined for the Public Integrity Unit, an organization intended to fight corruption, which she headed.

Information for this article was contributed by Emmarie Huetteman of The New York Times and by Donna Cassata of The Associated Press.

A Section on 08/22/2014

Upcoming Events