Listen to the "real" Huckster, back before his politically motivated 180* turn on the illegal alien invasion:
Huckabee promotes 'open door' policy at LULAC convention
Thursday, Jun 30, 2005
By Wesley Brown
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK - In a impassioned speech before hundreds of influential Hispanic civil rights leaders from across the nation, Gov. Mike Huckabee told a captive audience Wednesday that America is great because it has always opened it doors up to people seeking a better way of life.
"I would hope that no matter who we are, or where we are from, that America should always be a place that opens its arms, opens it heart, opens its spirit to people who come because they want the best for their families ...," Huckabee said as the largely Hispanic audience gave him a standing ovation.
Huckabee was the keynote speaker, along with Tyson Foods Inc. Chairman and CEO John Tyson, at a noon luncheon of the League of United Latin American Citizens, which is holding its 76th annual convention in Little Rock.
About 10,000 political, community and business leaders, along with exhibitors and speakers are in Little Rock attending the convention at the Statehouse Convention Center. The convention started Monday and runs through Saturday.
Although he never actually talked about the U.S. or Arkansas immigration policy, Huckabee made it very clear where he stood on the issue. In his opening remarks, he said the nation will need to address the concerns of the Hispanic community because of its growing influence and population base.
He told the LULAC delegates that their presence in the state's capital city was very important because Arkansas has one of the fastest growing Hispanic populations in the nation. "Your gathering is so very significant for our state," Huckabee said. "We are delighted to have you."
Despite several light moments, Huckabee did not stray away from several controversial issues that made him a target of criticism during the recently ended 85th General Assembly. He said Arkansas needs to make the transition from a traditional Southern state to one that recognizes and cherishes diversity "in culture, in language and in population."
"This is an issue that is going to require extraordinary efforts on both sides of the border, particularly those coming from Mexico," Huckabee said of verifying the status of illegal aliens. "But I am confident that our government will recognize that we should accommodate people who wish to provide the best opportunities for their families (and) employers so that we can make sure our economy has the necessary work force."
During the legislation session, Huckabee criticized an immigration bill by Republican senators Jim Holt of Springdale and Denny Altes of Fort Smith as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life. Senate Bill 206, which died in the Senate, would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote and also force state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally. Holt, R-Springdale, replied later to Huckabee's comments that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.
Critics say Arkansas citizens, businesses financed office to draw illegal workers
November 1, 2007 - By Jerome R. Corsi - WorldNetDaily.com
Financial inducements arranged by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to establish a Mexican consular office in Little Rock may have violated state law, according to an Arkansas attorney. As WND reported yesterday, critics in Arkansas charge Huckabee, who lately has enjoyed a surge in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, worked with some of the state's most prominent and politically powerful businesses to establish the consulate as a magnet for drawing illegal immigrants to the state to accept low-paying jobs. Huckabee, in an interview with WND, strongly denied the allegations.
Arkansas attorney Chip Sexton provided WND a written legal brief arguing the state government's sublease to Mexico of office space for the consulate was illegal under Arkansas law. Sexton contended the deal raised questions about the appropriateness of private citizens and corporations in Arkansas providing financial incentives for the government of Mexico to locate a consulate office in Little Rock.
"This arrangement to bring a Mexican consulate to Little Rock and the manner in which it occurred amounts to a 'consul-gate,'" Sexton told WND. "I'm an Arkansas citizen, why doesn't the state lease me some property and furniture for $1 per year?"
Robert Trevino, commissioner of Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, told WND he and Huckabee helped arrange state and private financial support to induce Mexico to establish the consulate as a business development "quid pro quo."
Trevino signed on July 7, 2006, a "Facilities Use Agreement" with Mexican consular officials to rent state government office space for $1 a year on the second floor of the Arkansas Rehabilitation Services building at 26 Corporate Hills in Little Rock. Sexton points to Arkansas law, which appears to prohibit state agencies, including Arkansas Rehabilitation Services, from sub-leasing government space.
Ark. Code Ann. § 22-2-114(C)(i) provides: "After July 1, 1975, no state agency shall enter into or renew or otherwise negotiate a lease between itself as lessor or lessee and a nongovernmental or other government lessor or lessee."
"Even more offensive, there was nothing in the lease or other agreements that would have prevented the Mexican consulate from providing legal assistance to illegal aliens," Sexton told WND. "We have information that the Mexican consulate operating out of the Arkansas Rehabilitation Facility was providing legal assistance even to Mexican illegal aliens who were accused of committing violent crimes in Arkansas."
Trevino emphasized: "It never was our intent to get involved in the immigration issue or to aid illegal immigration, that's a federal issue. Our interest and emphasis was and is strictly business development." He pointed to the many Arkansas companies, including Wal-Mart and Tyson Foods, that "do a good deal of business in Mexico," "So the more we can facilitate better trade with that country for our companies located here in Arkansas, we have a duty to do that as officials," he said.
Arkansas attorney Sexton disagreed, insisting, "This whole scheme to get a Mexican consulate to locate in Little Rock appears to be nothing more than a veiled invitation for illegal immigrants to come to Arkansas to work for the Arkansas corporations who want cheap labor. The package is enhanced by social welfare benefits provided by the state of Arkansas and financing assistance to support the Mexican consulate's presence in the state," Sexton said.
Trevino confirmed he was state director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, also known as LULAC, an activist group strongly advocating for rights of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S., when on Oct. 3, 2003, he accompanied Huckabee in a state airplane to visit Fox in Mexico. In 2003, Trevino was Huckabee's economic development policy adviser. In October 2005, Trevino was appointed by Huckabee to his current position as commissioner of Arkansas Rehabilitation Services.