The president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC says former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is surging in the polls as core Republican voters abandon John McCain and Rudy Giuliani over their pro-amnesty, pro-illegal alien records and stances.
William Gheen says this turn of events is bringing Mr. Huckabee's immigration stances under scrutiny and his campaign knows that missteps on this issue can send him back down the ladder like Mr. McCain and Mr. Giuliani.
Mr. Gheen says that's why the Huckabee campaign has released the "Secure America Plan," detailing his nine-point plan to facilitate enforcement of the nation's immigration laws and result in a decline in the illegal immigrant population.
"This is exactly what America wants to hear," he says. "America wants to hear about reducing the number or illegal aliens in America. Americans want illegal aliens to return to their home nations as current law dictates.
"However, there is a big problem with Huckabee's plan. While most of the provisions will be positively received by the American public, especially voters, his promises to crack down on employers, build a fence and bolster the border patrol are all nullified" by the plan itself.
Mr. Gheen says Mr. Huckabee makes it clear that illegal aliens will have to leave the U.S. but is advocating a "touch back" provision, which is the same "trick" put forward by supporters of the failed immigration reform bill in the U.S. Senate this year.
He says that although Mr. Huckabee would increase visas and expedite immigration processes so "those patiently and responsibly seeking to come here legally will not have to wait decades to share in the American dream," those changes would clearly increase legal immigration levels.
— Jerry Seper, national reporter, The Washington Times
Comments (1)
I don't think Mr. Huckabee's "Secure America Plan" is enough to win over most who are on the pro-enforcement side of the illegal immigration issue. What he states sounds good, but where are the specifics?
Per the third of his nine points, titled "Prevent Amnesty," he says policies that promote or tolerate amnesty will be rejected. And he would "propose" to provide to all illegal immigrants a 120-day window to register and go home. They would then face no penalty if they later applied to immigrate or visit. Those not returning home, once caught, would be barred from reentry for 10 years.
1. What does he mean by "amnesty"? Does he, like Sen. McCain, narrowly define it to mean unconditional forgiveness, i.e., forgiving a crime or civil violation with no penalty whatsoever? Does he think that imposing a token punishment (fines, learning English, background check, working for pay for a number of years)--something much less severe than the current sanction, deportation--is rather "earned legaliation," and not amnesty?
2. Is amnesty negotiable? If Congress gives a lot of what Huckabee lists in his plan, will he drop the "no amnesty" plank, calling it a necessary compromise? Or will he promise now to veto any immigration reform bill that rewards illegal aliens with "amnesty," "earned legalization," or "a path to citizenship" without having to return home and seek legal immigration on an equal basis with others of their countrymen who would like to come here?
Will Huckabee say that the bedrock American principle of the rule of law is essential to free government, and must be vindicated? Will he say that rather than tolerating or rewarding lawlessness, the government must enforce its laws and thereby send the message that people have a serious moral obligation to obey the law? Will he say that lawbreakers, including illegal aliens, should not be rewarded for their lawbreaking, and allowed to keep their ill-gotten gains? Will he insist on a just immigration plan that does not give illegal aliens any advantage over legal immigrants, limiting the forgiveness to allowing them to return home and applying and waiting in line to immigrate on the same basis as their countrymen who have never violated American laws?
Are there any reporters who will help the American people get answers to these questions?
Unless Mr. Huckabee eliminates any wiggle room with a solid, unconditional "no amnesty" promise, he will just be seen as another insincere flip-flopper.
Posted by Steve of MV | December 14, 2007 11:32 PM