Texas Gov. Rick Perry told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday that the American people will not trust Washington on immigration reform until the U.S.-Mexican border is secured.
"I'm not sure they can pass a piece of legislation that promises to secure the border and does all these other things from the standpoint of legalizing individuals who are here, and modernizing the program that allows people to come into the United States, until they have shown Americans that they're serious about securing the border," he said.
Perry said lawmakers had lost the trust of the American people because of false promises on the issue during The Big Interview.
"What we’re hearing through all the fog is ‘trust me,’" Perry said, "and the American people do not trust Washington because they have heard them time after time say here’s what we’re going to do, here’s what we’re going to implement when it comes to the border of the United States, and the border has never been secured.
"Let Americans see that you’re serious about putting the security apparatuses and the type of, you know, strategic fencing, the boots on the ground, the aviation assets, and then Americans will trust Washington that they're going to do what they say they're going to do," Perry said.