What a difference a year (and presidential rumors) can make.

Last year, after Arizona passed its extremist anti-immigration law, SB1070, Gov. Rick Perry released a statement expressing his concerns about the law and said it wouldn’t be right for Texas.

Since then he has fallen into anti-immigrant rhetoric, making the elimination of so-called “sanctuary cities” a legislative “emergency.” The fact that sanctuary cities don’t exist seems to be lost on the governor.

In this year-old statement, Perry sounds like he has been reading or at least listening to the police chiefs and sheriffs who are opposed to his new-found sanctuary cities emergency:

“Recently, there has been much debate over immigration policy in Washington and what has been implemented in Arizona. I fully recognize and support a state’s right and obligation to protect its citizens, but I have concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas.

“For example, some aspects of the law turn law enforcement officers into immigration officials by requiring them to determine immigration status during any lawful contact with a suspected alien, taking them away from their existing law enforcement duties, which are critical to keeping citizens safe.”

Too bad that Rick Perry didn’t last. Today he released a proclamation ordering the Texas Legislature to take up the Arizona-style proposals that died in the regular session. He threw in S-Comm and driver’s licenses for good measure. For those of you unfamiliar with S-Comm, it’s a widely-discredited, expensive, failing ICE program that is under federal investigation. But, to paraphrase Sen. Tommy Williams, “who cares?” And defying common sense, the harsh new driver’s licenses would make getting an ID more costly and time-consuming for all Texans, immigrant or not.