Huckabee on Immigration: Setting the Record Straight
By radicalconservative Posted in 2008 — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Where does Huckabee really stand on the issue of illegal immigration? At first glance of all the chatter, some of the news stories, and the editorials out there floating around, one would believe that Huckabee is, not only soft on illegal immigration, but actually, farther to the left of the issue than our current President. After reading all of the stories out there and listening to the facts in the case against Huckabee, I was beginning to have some serious doubts about the sincerity of this candidate myself, who is admittedly a strong Huckabee supporter.
However, upon doing a little research on this particular issue I discovered that, as usual, there is more than one side to the story. Evidently, the truth of the matter goes a little more like this: Huckabee opposes illegal immigration, supports sealing the border, and opposes amnesty. In a perfect world that would be enough, but this is no perfect world as we all know. The fact of the matter is that there are millions of illegals in this country already, and there is a constant flow of them across our borders each and every day. Another fact, Huckabee supports the deportation of illegal immigrants, but he believes that the process should be a better one.
Case in point is the 119 illegals deported in an Arkansas raid of a plant in 2005, in which officials, without having properly done their homework, proceeded to deport the illegals leaving their children behind here in the states to be a burden to our already overloaded system.
Also, according to the Arkansas State Constitution, children of all ages, whether legal or illegal are entitled to an education. Huckabee following the logic of the state's Constitution, supported allowing children of the illegals to attend Arkansas colleges at in-state rates. Bear in mind these are not individuals who came here illegally, but rather the offspring of those individuals. Holding said offspring responsible for the sins of the parents is like holding anyone else responsible for some crime committed by their forefathers. This is a preposterous notion, a dangerous road, and completely inconsistent with the ideology of compassionate conservatism.
Now, before anyone goes hysterical here, let me point out that we are not suggesting that illegals, who are definately in violation of the law, be given any form of amnesty, nor is there any promotion of the idea of an open border here. However, as in any crime or act of wrongdoing their are always innocents involved who may become collateral damage. Let's be clear there should be a secure border between the U.S. and its bordering nations, there should be no amnesty, and there should always be consequences for breaking the law, but we must remember to follow the ideology of compassionate conservatism as well. After all our system is a system of checks and balances, and we must not forget that there are two sides to the scales of justice. These are the principles that guide Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee. These are the principles that should guide every American.
Source can be found at http://mikehuckabeepresident2008.blogspot.com/2005/08/msm-huckabee-right...
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/08/13/opinion/18editorial.txt
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=VerticalDay.Home&l=2916...
Chuck Norris and Franz are going to secure the border-anything else is icing on the cake :)
Chuck Norris does not vote for president of the United States. He gives the voting machine a swift roundhouse kick and Mike Huckabee wins.
Franz doesn't work for anybody. Everybody serves him. Stupid mistakes like that suggestion can get you invited to a White House State Dinner after The Prince is elected. In the meantime, keep a sharp ear out for the clicking of toenails on the sidewalk behind you if it happens to be a slow day here in Paradise and He gets bored.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
Never again will I think Franz needs to help Chuck Norris. But then again no one needs to help Chuck Norris. All Hail Franz!
Chuck Norris does not vote for president of the United States. He gives the voting machine a swift roundhouse kick and Mike Huckabee wins.
Huckabee has had a lot to say about illegal immigration and most of it is shockingly out of line with what the base wants.
Check this out:
http://www.betterimmigration.com/candidates/2006/HuckabeePres08.html
In today's statement he says he is against amnesty. but check the link I posted and it really fills in the details. He is against amnesty in the exact same sense that President Bush is in against amnesty. He supports it but wants it to be called something else.
Read the whole page. Huckabee's position on illegal immigration is just about in perfect sync with Teddy Kennedy's. (Or President Bush's or Hillary's).
For myself, I can't bear the thought of another 4 (or 8) years of a Republican President fighting against the base on this issue. There is no way I would vote for Mike.
Usually I don't respond to comments, however I encourage everyone to follow the link jack posted and will give it out myself. http://www.betterimmigration.com/candidates/2006/HuckabeePres08.html
There is nothing here for which to be ashamed. It simply proves my point that Mike is for enforcement of the law when it comes to illegals, but is, also, in keeping with compassionate conservatism, in that the punishment must fit the crime without being excessive and creating collateral damage. Also, for a comprehensive immigration plan, go to http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=4
As others have pointed out, Huckabee is "against amnesty" only in the same sense that Bush, Clinton, etc. are "against amnesty": Reward illegal entry with cheap green cards but just don't call it amnesty.
For example, from the linked site:
I don't want to have an amnesty program.
...
You make them pay something, you make them go through a process, you may put them in the back of the line for the process, but you create a process that's realistic. You don't say the back of the line starts and for the next 12 years you're going to be filling out paperwork.What you do say is you're going to pay the fine, we're going to have a system that can be done in an orderly fashion, and you'll be able to be legal but we're not going to let you off scot free.
I read that comprehensive plan which you linked to and it is wierd that it is strangely silent on what to do with the illegals that are already here.
Perhaps the Governor IS ashamed or at least aware that his plans to grant these illegals shamnesty is totally out of sync with the desires of the majority of the Republican base so he chooses not to mention this aspect of his plan in the hope that voters won't notice? Fortunately that part of his plan is well documented in the page I linked to even though it is glaringly missing from his official policy page.
He says he oppossed the recent comprehensive shamnesty but all of his other statements suggest he supports most of its salient features. He favors giving illegals a path to citizenship after a token penalty. He favors giving illegal children in state tuition. He opposes restrictions on giving illegals access to social welfare. He favors importing guestworkers to do the jobs Americans won't do. What exactly was it about the Comprehensive Shamnesty did he oppose? It certainly does not seem to be any of that bill's major tenants.
Actually it is an apologia.
Never mind.
I have yet to come across a statement where Huckabee says that he will do away with birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is an incentive which encourages illegal immigration by rewarding the offspring of illegal aliens with citizenship.
Also, Huckabee's campaign statements are strangely silent on the issue of what to do with the people here already. When he was Governor of Arkansas, Huckabee granted clemency so frequently that the people of Arkansas petitioned him to stop granting clemencies. How do I know that Huckabee wouldn't grant clemency to the illegals already here?
Where is Mike's.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.