Area illegal immigration foe targets Huckabee ("..favors Touchback Amnesty")

FREELAND – The founder of a Hazleton-based anti-illegal immigration group left for Iowa on Wednesday to join other activists to discredit GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee before the Iowa caucus.

“We’re going to expose to Iowa voters that Mike Huckabee, who is currently leading in the Iowa polls, is … a fraud, and his record speaks volumes. He does not care about immigration reform, and basically, we need to go out there and get the word out,” Dan Smeriglio, president and founder of Voice of the People USA, said Wednesday at a press conference at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Freeland.

Smeriglio will join William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, and Peter Gadiel, of 9/11 Families for a Secure America, to “warn Republican voters” in Iowa about Huckabee’s “touchback amnesty plan” in anticipation of the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus.

Caucuses are meetings at which members of political parties gather to make policy decisions, elect leaders and select candidates. In a few states, they serve as an alternative to primary elections.

Since 1972, the Iowa caucus has been the first major electoral event of the presidential nominating process and has served as an early indicator for which presidential candidate might win his or her party’s nomination at the party’s national convention.

After setting up a command center Wednesday night, the leaders of the three anti-illegal immigration groups plan over the next four days to conduct media interviews, initiate a phone campaign to as many as 42,000 registered Republican Iowan voters and go door-to-door to spread their message about Huckabee, Smeriglio said.

Gheen, of ALIPAC, said the activists will warn voters that Huckabee and fellow GOP presidential contenders Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain have “pro-amnesty” stances.

On his Web site mikehuckabee.com, Huckabee details a nine-point “strategy for immigration enforcement and border security” that includes rejecting policies that promote or tolerate amnesty.

Under the amnesty provision, Huckabee proposes to provide all illegal immigrants 120 days to register with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and leave the country. Those who register and return to their home country will face no penalty if they later apply to immigrate or visit; those who do not return home will be, when caught, will be barred from future re-entry for a period of 10 years, according to the Web site.

But Gheen said Huckabee “is trying to deceive voters with a tough immigration stance on his Web site that excludes his comments to FOX News on Dec. 9 where he says illegal aliens can return within days.”

“Our team will expose the Huckster and the endorsement of lone Minuteman Jim Gilchrist, which will not save him from the truth. … Eighty-four leaders have signed a letter rebuking Gilchrist and Huckabee for their support of a touchback amnesty plan modeled after the Pence plan. Within a few days, most GOP voters will know about this trick,” Gheen said.

Frank Scavo, Voice of the People’s chairman of the board, said educating local voters about illegal immigration issues is not the group’s sole purpose. “It’s also to overcome the millions of dollars of advertising that the presidential candidates are going to be putting out there.”

Smeriglio said Voice of the People is not yet endorsing any presidential candidate, but members believe Huckabee and McCain have the worst illegal immigration stances among the GOP presidential candidates.

Scavo said Smeriglio and the other activists plan to meet with representatives from the campaigns of GOP candidates Giuliani, McCain, Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney as well as representatives of Democratic candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama.

The folks I dont trust is the msm. Or their followers! .
So I will just put up what Mike has on his web site and let the panties in a bunch crowd flame away. God bless em.

Immigration
(Huckabee)

Securing our borders must be our top priority and has reached the level of a national emergency.

I support the $3 billion the Senate has voted for border security. This money will train and deploy 23,000 more agents, add four drone planes, build 700 miles of fence and 300 miles of vehicle barriers, and put up 105 radar and camera towers. This money will turn “catch and release” into “catch and detain” of those entering illegally, and crack down on those who overstay their visas.
In this age of terror, immigration is not only an economic issue, but also a national security issue. Those caught trying to enter illegally must be detained, processed, and deported. As Governor, I ordered my state troopers to work with the Department of Homeland Security to arrest illegals and enforce federal immigration law.
I oppose and will never allow amnesty. I opposed the amnesty President Bush and Senator McCain tried to ram through Congress this summer, and opposed the misnamed DREAM Act, which would have put us on the slippery slope to amnesty for all.
I oppose and will not tolerate sanctuaries for illegals. The federal government must crack down on rogue cities that willfully undermine our economy and national security.
I oppose giving driver’s licenses to illegals and supports legislation to prevent states from doing so. In 2005, I signed legislation that prevents illegals in Arkansas from getting driver’s licenses.
I will stop punishing cities which try to enforce our laws and protect the economic well-being, physical safety, and quality of life of their citizens.
I oppose and will not tolerate employers who hire illegals. They must be punished with fines and penalties so large that they will see it is not worth the risk.
I oppose the economic integration of North America that would create open borders among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I will never yield one iota or one inch of our sovereignty.
I will take our country back for those who belong here. No open borders, no amnesty, no sanctuary, no false Social Security numbers, no driver’s licenses for illegals.
I know that securing our borders must be our top priority and has reached the level of a national emergency. I am as sick and tired as you are that it is harder for us to get on an airplane in our home town than it is for all these illegals to cross our international border unchallenged.

We cannot stem the tide of illegals until we turn the tide. Before you fix the damage to your house caused by a leaking roof, you have to stop the leak, which I am determined to do.

I supported the $3 billion Congress passed this summer for border security. This desperately-needed money will train and deploy 23,000 more agents, add four drone planes, build 700 miles of fence and 300 miles of vehicle barriers, and put up 105 radar and camera towers. This money will turn “catch and release” into “catch and detain” of those entering illegally and crack down on those who overstay their visas.

But where is this $3 billion? The President threatened to veto the bill it was part of! Now the Senate has again voted for this money as part of the Defense Bill. I will continue to fight until we get these funds.

In this age of terror, immigration is not only an economic issue, but also a national security issue. We must know who is coming into our country, where they are going, and why they are here. All those who are caught trying to enter illegally must be detained, processed, and deported. As Governor, I ordered my state troopers to work with the Department of Homeland Security to arrest illegals and enforce federal immigration law.

I oppose and will never allow amnesty. I passionately rejected the amnesty bill that President Bush and Sen. McCain tried to ram through Congress this summer after secret meetings of an under-the-radar cabal of amnesty-loving senators.

I opposed the misnamed DREAM Act, which was a nightmare because it would have put us on the slippery slope to amnesty for all. Because once we open that door even a crack, we’ll never get it closed again.

I oppose and will not tolerate sanctuaries for illegals. The federal government must enforce our existing laws by cracking down on rogue cities and towns that willfully undermine our economy and our homeland security by giving benefits and protection to illegals. The consequences for illegal entry must be swift, certain, and uniform throughout our country.

I oppose giving driver’s licenses to illegals, such as Governor Spitzer tried to do in New York. I support legislation that would prevent the states from granting this privilege to illegals. In 2005, I signed legislation that prevents illegals in Arkansas from getting driver’s licenses.

I will stop punishing cities which are trying to enforce our laws. I will appoint judges who will uphold the law, not side with the ACLU against cities like Hazelton, Pennsylvania, which are trying to protect the economic well-being, physical safety, and quality of life of their citizens.

I will not tolerate employers who hire illegals - they must be punished by fines and penalties so large that they will understand it is not worth the risk. Once again, as with Hazelton, liberal judges are gumming up the works. Right now, a court in San Francisco — Pelosiland - has delayed enforcement of the “no match” letters for Social Security numbers that the Department of Homeland Security will use to crack down on those who hire illegals. If illegals cannot find work, they will go back where they belong. I will do everything I can to hasten their trip home by denying them employment.

I strongly oppose the economic integration of North America that would have open borders among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. I know we must have closed and secure borders. I will never yield either one inch or one iota of our sovereignty. I will recognize no authority but our Constitution.

I will take our country back for those who belong here and those who are willing to play by the rules for the privilege to come here. No open borders, no amnesty, no sanctuary, no false Social Security numbers, no driver’s licenses for illegals.

In case anyone wants to know I like D Hunter too...!

and for those third party turds I am sure the msm will welcome you too.

Mike Huckabee on Fox News December 9, 2007 making clear his amnesty approach will be for illegal aliens to go back home and come back legally within days or maybe weeks.

…a pathway that sends people back to the starting point but this idea of waiting years, no I don’t agree with that in fact look if we can get a credit card application done within hours, if we can get passports done within days, if we can transact business over the internet anyplace in the world within seconds, do a background check instantaneously. It’s our government that has failed and is dysfunctional. It shouldn’t take years to get a work permit to come here to pick lettuce. So part of the plan that I have is that we seal the borders, you don’t have amnesty and sanctuary cities, you do have a pathway that gets you back home. But that pathway to get back here legally doesn’t take years, it would talk days, maybe weeks and then people could come back in the workforce. Let me tell you one thing that is important, two things, number one, the American people say do something, do it now, we don’t want to have this country ignoring the illegal problem. I get it. Second, I want people that are in this country to hold their heads up high. You know right now there are a lot of people who really are here because they are trying to feed their families. I don’t begrudge them that. I say everyday, I say thank God I live in a country people are trying to break into, not out of, but lets give them the means by which they can get here thru the door, legally, and when they’re here they don’t have to hide, they don’t have to keep their heads down and hope nobody catches them. They have their heads held high. Everyone living within the borders of the United States ought to be able to do so with dignity and with a since of pride, not a sense of fear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOKe9RSEyM8

I would rather vote for a Democrat than that....more government involvment...amnesty pushing... foreign affairs ignorant...Bush bashing....high taxing....parole giving...credential lying.....preacher hick from Arkansas. That's about it (sure I missed something)

Minute Men of America
Stand Up

I always thought our group stood for stopping illegal immigration. I also thought that we, The Minute Me, wanted a permanent security fence along our southern border. It is now clear to me that our leaders are either asleep or have given up on our cause to save America from becoming a third world nation.

"When I am president, I will build a fence."

Did you know .....Fred Thompson in a speech in Iowa on the 21st. of Dec. declared "When I am president, I will build a fence." He went further on to say...Amnesty and illegal immigration, he said, are not healthy for the U.S. or Mexico. "We need to be a nation of high fences and wide gates."

Is this not what we want?
Where are our leaders?
Why aren't there Minute Men TV spots endorsing Fred Thompson?

If we fail we may very well have a Democrat or a liberal Republican elected, who will then push an amnesty bill through congress.

Call your Minute Men Headquarters today and give them your opinion.

“Huck says he is against “amnesty,” and then in the next sentence he says he is for a “path to citizenship” for illegals.”

Fred Thompson has said basically the same thing and IMO, both are in the Bush column (especially since the addition of illegal alien/amnesty activist George P. Bush to Team Thompson). FDT has said he opposes amnesty, but has also said he only opposes a blanket amnesty for all illegal aliens, says that they can’t all be rounded up and deported. So, he first wants to determine ‘who’ (illegal aliens) are here, and then give them “aspirations of citizenship”...(and then apply attrition through enforcement?). He has also previously voted on and stated that he opposes punishing illegal alien employers. Now he says he will. When? AFTER illegal alien employers have been granted ‘amnesty’?

While he has published a ‘new’ plan, he has never, to my knowledge, given any explanation for his previous statements. As many have said, it is more about what Fred Thompson does NOT say, than what he does say....vagueness and riding the fence are his M.O. and why I don’t trust him. If he continues to refuse to be specific, there is a reason, and it must also be exposed.

Huckabee has tried to hide the fact that his plan is a touchback scheme. Even Gilchrist wasn’t aware. We cannot trust our candidates to just say they “oppose amnesty”. We must demand FULL DISCLOSURE..... They must CLEARLY define what it is, who (if any) would get it, and when/how it would or would not, be implemented.

“Is this not what we want?
Where are our leaders?
Why aren’t there Minute Men TV spots endorsing Fred Thompson? “

Why????

“You’re going to have to, in some way, work out a deal where they can have some aspirations of citizenship but not make it so easy that it’s unfair to the people waiting in line and abiding by the law.”

“Look, it’s just not realistic that we’re going to round up 12 million people and ship them all out of the country.”...”We woke up one day after years of neglect and apparently discovered that we have somewhere between 12 million and 20 million illegal aliens in this country. So it became an impossible situation to deal with.

I mean, there’s really no good solution. So what do you do? You have to start over. Well, I’m concerned about the next 12 million or 20 million. So that’s why enforcement, and enforcement at the border, has to be primary.

I think most people feel disillusioned after 1986 when we had this deal offered to them before, and now we’re insisting that, you know, we solve the security problem first, and then we’ll talk about what to do with regard to other things — certainly no amnesty or nothing blanket like that.

But figure out some way to make some differentiation between the kind of people that we have here.

You know, if you have the right kind of policies, and you’re not encouraging people to come here and encouraging them to stay once they’re here, they’ll go back, many of them, of their own volition, instead of having to, you know, load up moving vans and rounding people up. That’s not going to happen.”

“We haven’t enforced the law, in terms of employers. … For 20 years, we’ve not enforced the law, and that’s a part of the problem. You can’t enforce it all on the backs of the employers. People falsify information that they give employers and all that. That’s not a solution to the problem.”

FOX’s ALAN COLMES: “You don’t put up a fence, either, do you? Is that bad neighbor policy, put a fence up?” THOMPSON: “If it would work. I mean, I don’t know – that’s a technical problem. In this day and age, I would not think you would have to use bricks and mortar to get that job done.”

>>While he has published a ‘new’ plan, he has never, to my knowledge, given any explanation for his previous statements. As many have said, it is more about what Fred Thompson does NOT say, than what he does say....vagueness and riding the fence are his M.O. and why I don’t trust him. If he continues to refuse to be specific, there is a reason, and it must also be exposed.<<

OK, so what does that leave us?

I think the overwhelming consensus here is that Giuliani has always been wrong on immigration.

McCain stood up with Kennedy to push amnesty.

Romney’s past does not give us a good feeling about immigration.

The Huckster seems to be obviously pro-amnesty.

I still have some hope for Thompson, especially if he would name Hunter as VP, but if Thompson is nominated it’s possible that your predictions about him will be accurate.

That leaves Hunter, whom I love as a patriot, but who IMO has as much chance of winning in 2008 as the defenders of the Alamo in 1836. In fact, the defeat at the Alamo eventually led to the Texans winning the war, but I’m not sure how that would apply to current national elections. Maybe after 4 years of Hillary or a RINO as POTUS, in 2012 the people will be forced to see that Hunter has been right all along. Or maybe it will be too late by then.

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