Former Texas Gov . Rick Perry compared legal U.S. immigrants to cardboard boxes on Saturday , bringing some in a Des Moines , Iowa audience to shake their head sin disbelief.. He said at the Iowa Ag Summit , a testing ground for potential presidential candidates , that the United States should be able to track holders of work visas the way shipping companies track parcels . ' I 'm telling you , ' Perry said , 'if UPS can track a box all around the world and know exactly where it is 24/7 , we can give people a card and allow them in here , and say that when you hit your visa limit from the time to be in this country , we 're going to know where you are . ' 'We 're going to let you know that your time 's up . You 're outta here . ' 'YOU 'RE OUTTA HERE ' : Former Texas Gov . Rick Perry said the US government should track foreign guest workers like UPS tracks packages and deport them when their permits expire . Perry spoke at the 2015 Ag Summit , a testing ground for presidential hopefuls , in Des Moines , Iowa . SCAN IT : UPS keeps track of millions of packages around the world every day , far more than the hundreds of thousands of H1-B immigrants in the country legally at any given time . While some applauded , others grimaced . Most speakers during the morning session had harsh words for President Barack Obama 's recent immigration executive actions , which promise to guarantee 5 million or more illegal immigrants that they wo n't be deported through the end of his White House term . But Perry distinguished himself by saying future presidents should embrace greater numbers of targeted legal immigrants . He hinted that a Perry administration in Washington would focus on 'bringing people into this country that we need , whether it 's high-tech workers , or people in agriculture , hospitality or construction . ' And , he added , the government would have to be 'able to identify these people – keep up with them . ' Perry did n't say what kind of technology he advocated for keeping track of legal immigrants . America awards 85,000 so-called H-1B work visas , based on a computer-generated lottery system , including 20,000 with advanced academic qualifications like master 's degrees or Ph.Ds . Last year the U.S. got 172,500 applications for fiscal 2015 , and stopped acceepting them after just 7 days . The visa allows foreign nationals who do not intend to emigrate to the United States to work inside the country for three years , extendable to six . Many choose ultimately to stay beyond that timeframe – including all of the airline hijackers responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 . According to a recent U.S. Customs and Immigration Services report to Congress , 61 per cent of the successful applicants in 2012 worked in 'computer-related occupations . ' Other categories include 'specialty occupations ' such as fashion modeling and healthcare work . That year visa holders ' salaries averaged $ 79,000 . Nearly three-quarters were between the ages of 25 and 34 that year . All told there were moew than 262,500 H1-B visa holders in the country in 2012 , including holdovers from previous years . Perry also hammered the Obama administration for appointing Ron Klain as his Ebola czar – ' a political spokesperson for Al Gore ! ' And he complained that America 's longest border with Mexico , in his home state of Texas , has been left largely undefended during the Obama years . ' I 've got some experience with this , ' he said . Tickets to legally enter the United States include 'H1-B ' visas that allow holders to work in America for three years at a time . LESS SERIOUS : LIberal activists from family-farming and animal-rights groups picketed outside the Iowa Ag Summit on Saturday . Describing a 150-mile wide swath of southern Texas , he said that when Obama visited Texas in July 2014 , that area was seeing '10,000-plus apprehensions a week . ' The president , he recalled , has emphasized 'securing the border ' as part of a comprehensive approach to immigration reform . 'We 've heard that time after time after time , ' he said . Perry also noted that the president . Eight other Republicans spoke Saturday , including Wisconsin Gov . Scott Walker , former Florida Gov . Jeb Bush and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz . None of the high profile Democrats who were invited – including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – made the trip .
'If UPS can track a box all around the world and know exactly where it is 24/7 , we can give people a card ... we 're going to know where you are ' Perry spoke at the Iowa Ag Summit , a farmers ' casting call for prospective presidential candidates . He blasted the Obama White House for appointing ' a political spokesman for Al Gore ' as his ebola czar . Comment: