Just A Reminder: Mike Huckabee Supported Scholarships For Illegal Aliens

Mike Huckabee, the Mitt Romney of the South, talks a good game, and says all of the right words, but truth be told, he is what is known as a “compassionate conservative.” In other words, he is somewhat conservative on social issues, but a Big Government progressive on everything else.

Much like his fellow traveler, Mitt Romney, Huckabee is known for skillfully sticking his finger to the wind, and following which ever direction that wind takes him at the time.

This video, from Huckabee’s State of The State address given on January 11, 2005, shows Huckabee discussing the need for scholarships for illegal aliens. After all, he says, it’s not their fault their parents broke our laws. You’ll notice he never says “illegal” but continually refers to “status.” Typical weasel words from a typical politician.

Huckabee announces his desire to give scholarships to illegal aliens in his January 11, 2005 State of the State address.

Huckabee doesn’t say “illegal aliens“. He uses the word “status“. But a newspaper account makes clear his intentions, “Illegal aliens would be eligible for state taxpayer-funded college scholarships and in-state college tuition rates under a bill that was endorsed by a committee of the Arkansas House of Representatives on Tuesday. House Bill 1525 by Rep. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, is part of Gov. Mike Huckabee’s legislative package. It easily won favor in the House Education Committee, of which Elliott is chairman.” (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 2/23/2005)

Another newspaper account, “Gov. Mike Huckabee, who included the bill in his legislative package, drew a contrast between Wednesday’s vote in support of illegal immigrants and the state’s handling of the 1957 desegregation of Little Rock’s Central High School.’ They took a stand that Arkansas can be proud of,’Huckabee said in describing the House. ‘I think if we had taken a similar one in 1957, it would have made us proud for a long, long time.’” (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 2/24/2005)

Yeah, I know what you are saying, this was five years ago, but as we all know, these Big Government Statists never really change, they just say whatever it takes to get by, at the time. As we move toward November, and think beyond, it’s not a bad idea to remind ourselves who some of the players are, and what they stand for.

As proven by most of his endorsements, Huckabee tends to talk the talk, but when push comes to shove, he backs the “good old boys” in the party.

Mike Huckabee’s surprising support for the DREAM Act
August 23, 2010 by nlirh www.latinainstitute.org

On August 11th, 2010, NPR’s On Point published its interview with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, where he was questioned about a bill he endorsed in 2005 that would have supplied undocumented immigrants who fulfilled certain criteria with state-sponsored scholarships.

Huckabee maintained his opinion and seemed to suggest that Congress should support the DREAM Act, which aims to provide young, undocumented immigrants who moved to the U.S. with their parents and have lived in the U.S. for the most of their lives with a means of legalization. He reasoned that refusing intelligent, young undocumented immigrants access to higher education does more than misguidedly penalize children – it also negatively affects taxpayers and the entire nation:

HUCKABEE: When a kid comes to his country, and he’s four years old and he had no choice in it — his parents came illegally. He still, because he is in this state, it’s the state’s responsibility – in fact, it is the state’s legal mandate – to make sure that child is in school. So let’s say that kid goes to school. That kid is in our school from kindergarten through the 12th grade. He graduates as valedictorian because he’s a smart kid and he works his rear end off and he becomes the valedictorian of the school. The question is: Is he better off going to college and becoming a neurosurgeon or a banker or whatever he might become, and becoming a taxpayer, and in the process having to apply for and achieve citizenship, or should we make him pick tomatoes? I think it’s better if he goes to college and becomes a citizen.

For these reasons, Huckabee also insisted that he does not support repeal of the 14th Amendment, which confers citizenship on all children born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

Furthermore, he affirmed that all children of “illegal immigrants” should have a path to citizenship.

Huckabee’s interview responses are noteworthy in their differences from many other Republicans’ views on immigration; Senator John McCain (R-AZ), for example, purports to oppose the DREAM Act for “humanitarian reasons.”

That the ultra-conservative Huckabee breaks from traditional Republican ideology to support young, undocumented immigrants could indicate a way to find common ground with anti-immigrant legislators.

Although he calls for strengthened border security and refers to the parents of potential DREAM Act beneficiaries as “illegal,” Huckabee recognizes that the Act could help those who aren’t at fault for their immigration status, links their success with the general wellbeing of the nation, and identifies the 14th Amendment debate as a ruse.

Perhaps this overlap between pro- and anti-immigrant viewpoints represents an opportunity to communicate with conservative legislators and advocate for progressive laws that would benefit our communities and the U.S. as a whole.________________________________________________________________________

Huckabee is what he is, pissant.

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