A little more than a week after his embarrassing debate performance, Rick Perry this weekend got back to doing what he does best — pressing the flesh with voters. 

At this morning's TribLive conversation, Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp defended the state law allowing college-bound children of undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition.

Thanks to Gov. Rick Perry, Karla Reséndiz was able to attend UT-Austin and pay in-state tuition rates — even though she is not a legal resident of Texas. Reséndiz — and by extension Perry — is now the focus of a harsh debate over illegal immigration. 

Gov. Rick Perry’s defense of in-state tuition for illegal immigrants now seems out of step with the GOP mainstream. But that wasn't the case 10 years ago. It's the Republican Party that has moved — not the governor.

We'll be liveblogging throughout the weekend from The Texas Tribune Festival's race and immigration track — which includes panels on cartel violence in Mexico and the relationship between illegal immigration and criminal justice. 

Ramshaw, Root and Philpott track the governor on the campaign trail, Tan and Dehn on high school football concussions, and Murphy and yours truly on the partisan climates of each district under redistricting maps: The best of our content from Sept. 19 to 23.

Immigration issues jumped into the center ring of the presidential race, so we took the opportunity to ask our insiders how that's going to play for Gov. Rick Perry. The verdict? It depends.

Native-born Texans who were seeking employment likely lost out to competition from immigrants in recent years, according to a conservative think tank that advocates for less migration to the country.

Proposed legislation that would require employers across the country to use the electronic employment-verification program known as E-Verify passed out of a congressional House committee today.

A group of Tea Party activists pushing for stricter immigration laws Monday asked Gov. Rick Perry to leave the presidential campaign trail and call the Legislature back into session to tackle a ban on so-called sanctuary cities.

U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, took his efforts to require nationwide use of the electronic employment verification program, known as E-Verify, before his committee today. “Yes, E-Verify is a jobs killer, but only for illegal workers,” he said.

Excerpt from an interview between Jay Root and Sheriff Joe Arpaio about Gov. Rick Perry.

M. Smith on Rick Perry's allergic reaction to federal school money, E. Smith elicits Ted Cruz's take on David Dewhurst, Root and Ramshaw cover Perry's first presidential debate, Ramshaw and Aguilar poke at Perry's immigration record and how it plays among Republicans, Hamilton on the dash for top status among Texas colleges, Galbraith on an environmental ruling from the White House that got conservative applause and one that didn't, Grissom has the latest on the Willingham arson case and the state's plans to look at other fires and Aaronson's widget for comparing the presidential candidates: The best of our best content from Sept. 5 to 9, 2011.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement directed prosecutors in June to use discretion when placing illegal immigrants in deportation proceedings. But attorneys for immigrants facing deportation say the new rules haven't filtered down to the ground level — the U.S. Border Patrol. 

Mexican journalist Alejandro Hernandez Pacheco was granted asylum last week by the U.S. government. His attorney says it's a sign U.S. officials are no longer confident the Mexican government can protect its citizens from drug cartels.

Just days before announcing his candidacy for president, Gov. Rick Perry sent a letter to the Obama administration saying Washington owes Texas more than $349 million for the state's incarceration of illegal immigrants.

The Obama administration announced today it will begin reviewing the case files of the estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants in deportation proceedings to determine which should be released from custody.