December 3, 2014 1:12 PM

An immigration reversal for Perry as he orders state agencies to use E-Verify

Meantime, Patrick vows that as soon as he’s sworn in to preside over the Senate, he’ll work to keep the National Guard on the border

In a complete but un-shocking turnaround for Gov. Perry, he issued an executive order on Wednesday designed to try to determine the legal status of new hires at as many state agencies as possible. Given that many of those agencies already use the E-Verify system and Perry has previously rejected the notion, it is difficult to see the move as anything other than presidential politics, some Capitol observers were quick to say.

Perry four years ago said that use of E-Verify to check the legal status of new hires would "not make a hill of beans’ difference when it comes to what’s happening in America.” But, he now says the internet-based system run by the federal government has been greatly improved, which is true.

E-Verify still has fail rates, however, that continue to make it unacceptable to business leaders. The Texas Association of Business, as the prime example, is opposed to mandating the use of E-Verify for companies. Some firms, including large construction companies, use E-Verify on a voluntary basis.