Huckabee signs Sen. Sessions' Immigration Pledge

TUSCALOOSA, ALA. -- Mike Huckabee has changed his mind and will sign an Alabama senator’s immigration pledge for presidential candidates - an effort to defeat the McCain-Kennedy proposal in the U.S. Senate.

In Birmingham last week, Huckabee said he was almost ready to sign the pledge put forth by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., but was on the fence regarding one of its aspects. "Which one?" a reporter asked.

Huckabee said it had to do with the 13th point of the 15-point pledge, one to “eliminate the visa lottery program and change current preference categories that guarantee automatic entry for aging parents and extended family members and replace it with a system that fairly and objectively evaluates at least 50% of applicants based on characteristics such as education, skills, English ability, and age.”

Huckabee said he wasn't sure if the ratio for immigrants with advanced degrees was "arbitrary" or flexible enough for changing needs.

"Everything else about it is...absolutely fantastic," Huckabee said. "That's the one piece we haven't been able to completely work on. Hopefully we can get with Senator Sessions to get that verified."

Later at a rally in Tuscaloosa, Huckabee announced he would sign Sessions' pledge. Asked about the decision during the media avail that followed, he said, "Point 13 dealt with ratios of people in engineering-- we looked at that and decided it really is not a big issue and certainly not something that ought to keep us from signing it. It's very consistent with our 9-point immigration plan so I thought, what better time to do it than when I'm in Alabama."

Regarding the seemingly quick manner in which he decided to sign the pledge, he said, "We've been looking at it for about a week…I looked at it last night and today and decided when we got here that this would be a great time to sign the pledge."

REAL IMMIGRATION REFORM

A Roadmap for Demonstrating Presidential Credibility on One of America’s Most Important Issues

I. SECURE THE BORDER

1. Border Fence and National Guard: If elected President, will you secure the border, including completing construction of the 700 mile southern border fence required by the Secure Fence Act, constructing more miles if

needed, and keeping the National Guard on the border until it is secured?

□Yes or □ No

2. Border Prosecutions: If elected President, will you deter illegal entry by expanding the already successful Zero Tolerance Prosecution Policy (Operation Streamline) from 3 to all 20 border sectors, and support statutory mandatory minimums for the crimes of illegal entry, reentry, and reentry after deportation for any felony?

□Yes or □ No

3. Control Visa Overstays: If elected President, will you give our immigration system integrity by completing the 10-year past due exit portion of The USVISIT (Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) system and eliminate other weaknesses in the system so that future visa overstays can be identified?

□Yes or □ No

II. END THE MAGNET AT THE WORKPLACE

4. Enforceable Employer Verification System: If elected President, will you end the jobs magnet by requiring all employers to use the electronic verification system to check the legal status of all employees, reduce fraud by decreasing the number of documents employers must accept to prove legal status, and will you offer cooperatingemployers a safe harbor?

□Yes or □ No

5. Biometric ID Card For All Non-Citizens: If elected President, will you require a biometric (fingerprint encoded) identification card for all aliens authorized to work?

□Yes or □ No

6. Eliminate Identity Theft: If elected President, will you increase security for legal workers by requiring social security earnings statements to list all employers reporting wages under an individual’s social security number so

that fraudulent use of that number can be spotted and will you fight to keep using "no match notices" as evidence that employers knew they were employing an illegal alien under a social security number issued to someone else?

□Yes or □ No

III. STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

7. Form Effective Partnerships: If elected President, will you form effective immigration enforcement partnerships with state and local law enforcement by clarifying their authority to enforce federal immigration laws, deputizing state and local officers in every state (through the 287(g) program), offering a basic training course for all state and local

officers, and compensating state and local entities for immigration enforcement related expenses?

□Yes or □ No

8. Federal Response To State And Local Arrests: If elected President, will you promptly evaluate the 27% of prisoners that are non-citizens so that illegal alien criminals can be processed and deported at the end of their

sentences, and will you implement a mandatory federal response to state and local law enforcement when they apprehend an illegal alien for a DUI, child abuse crime, or any felony?

□Yes or □ No

9. End Catch and Release: If elected President, will you put an end to the existing policy that allows illegal aliens caught inside our country to be released on bail after their arrest while they await their initial court appearance?

□Yes or □ No

10. List Illegal Aliens In the NCIC: If elected President, will you immediately expand the National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC) Immigration Violators File to include: (A) aliens against whom a final order of removal has been issued; (B) aliens who have signed a voluntary departure agreement; (C) aliens who have overstayed their authorized

period of stay; and (D) aliens whose visas have been revoked?

□Yes or □ No

IV. DISCOURAGE SANCTUARIES

11. Deny Federal Funds: If elected President, will you encourage compliance with Federal law by implementing a reduction of at least 10% of discretionary federal grants and highway funds to cities, states, universities, and other entities that undermine Federal law by implementing sanctuary policies, issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, or offering education benefits to illegal aliens (such as in-state tuition) that are not available to all legal residents and citizens?

□Yes or □ No

12. Close Financial Loopholes: If elected President, will you rewrite the Treasury regulations to close the loophole that allows illegal aliens to open U.S. based bank accounts?

□Yes or □ No

V. IMPROVE THE LEGAL IMMIGRATION PROCESS

13. Replace Visa Lottery and Chain Migration with Merit Based Immigration System: If elected President, will you eliminate the visa lottery program and change current preference categories that guarantee automatic entry for aging parents and extended family members and replace it with a system that fairly and objectively evaluates at least 50% of applicants based on characteristics such as education, skills, English ability, and age?

□Yes or □ No

14. Pathway to Citizenship: If elected President, will you take a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens off the table?

□Yes or □ No

15. Seek Necessary Authority: If elected President, will you ask Congress for necessary laws or funds to execute these commitments?

□Yes or □ No

By signing this document, I express to the American people that I understand the challenges of ending illegal immigration, I am personally committed to that goal, and I will take the actions reasonable and necessary to achieve it.

________________________________________________ _____________________

(Signature of Candidate) (Date)

_________________

From Sen sessions website

http://sessions.senate.gov/public/

Huckabee Commits to Sessions’ Immigration Plan
Saturday, February 2, 2008

WASHINGTON – GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee today committed to a 15 point action plan to restore law and order to America’s broken immigration system.

The plan, outlined last month by U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), includes steps to improve border security, workplace enforcement and legal immigration policies.

Sessions, a leading Senate advocate for establishing a lawful system of immigration, challenged this year’s field of presidential candidates to commit to actions that “any president serious about restoring law and order to our immigration system would take.”

Huckabee announced his support for Sessions’ plan at a campaign stop in Montgomery.

“Gov. Huckabee today publicly committed to take actions necessary to get our country on the road to a lawful system of immigration,” Sessions said. “The President of the United States is the chief law enforcement officer of the country. The simple truth is that real progress on this issue is not likely unless the next president makes ending illegal immigration a top priority for his or her administration. It’s been 40 years since we’ve had a president committed to enforcing our immigration laws. In that time, we’ve heard a lot of broad promises but not seen a lot of real action. With his commitment today, Gov. Huckabee demonstrates that he is serious about ending illegal immigration and creating a lawful system that serves the long term interests of our country.”

Polling data suggests that illegal immigration is a high priority on the minds of voters. A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll published prior to the primary season found that “illegal immigration” would influence 80 percent of American’s decisions regarding which candidate to support. In Iowa, 33 percent of Republican primary voters listed “illegal immigration” as the single most important problem facing the nation. Illegal immigration consistently ranked at the top of priorities for Republican voters in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, and Florida.

“Immigration, of course, is one of many important issues in this year’s campaign, but the 4 out of 5 primary voters who are concerned about illegal immigration deserve to know who they can count on to secure our borders and restore law and order to our system,” said Sessions.

Sessions’ office provided each of the presidential campaigns with a copy of the immigration questionnaire. Gov. Huckabee is the first candidate to commit to the plan.

Sessions has not endorsed Huckabee or any other candidate in the 2008 presidential election.

Sessions posed the following questions to the presidential candidates:

Border Fence and National Guard: If elected President, will you secure the border, including completing construction of the 700 mile southern border fence required by the Secure Fence Act, constructing more miles if needed, and keeping the National Guard on the border until it is secured?

Border Prosecutions: If elected President, will you deter illegal entry by expanding the already successful Zero Tolerance Prosecution Policy (Operation Streamline) from 3 to all 20 border sectors, and support statutory mandatory minimums for the crimes of illegal entry, reentry, and reentry after deportation for any felony?

Control Visa Overstays: If elected President, will you give our immigration system integrity by completing the 10-year past due exit portion of The USVISIT (Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology) system and eliminate other weaknesses in the system so that future visa overstays can be identified?

Enforceable Employer Verification System: If elected President, will you end the jobs magnet by requiring all employers to use the electronic verification system to check the legal status of all employees, reduce fraud by decreasing the number of documents employers must accept to prove legal status, and will you offer cooperating employers a safe harbor?

Biometric ID Card For All Non-Citizens: If elected President, will you require a biometric (fingerprint encoded) identification card for all aliens authorized to work?

Eliminate Identity Theft: If elected President, will you increase security for legal workers by requiring social security earnings statements to list all employers reporting wages under an individual’s social security number so that fraudulent use of that number can be spotted and will you fight to keep using “no match notices” as evidence that employers knew they were employing an illegal alien under a social security number issued to someone else?

Form Effective Partnerships: If elected President, will you form effective immigration enforcement partnerships with state and local law enforcement by clarifying their authority to enforce federal immigration laws, deputizing state and local officers in every state (through the 287(g) program), offering a basic training course for all state and local officers, and compensating state and local entities for immigration enforcement related expenses?

Federal Response To State And Local Arrests: If elected President, will you promptly evaluate the 27% of prisoners that are non-citizens so that illegal alien criminals can be processed and deported at the end of their sentences, and will you implement a mandatory federal response to state and local law enforcement when they apprehend an illegal alien for a DUI, child abuse crime, or any felony?

End Catch and Release: If elected President, will you put an end to the existing policy that allows illegal aliens caught inside our country to be released on bail after their arrest while they await their initial court appearance?

List Illegal Aliens In the NCIC: If elected President, will you immediately expand the National Crime Information Center’s (NCIC) Immigration Violators File to include: (A) aliens against whom a final order of removal has been issued; (B) aliens who have signed a voluntary departure agreement; (C) aliens who have overstayed their authorized period of stay; and (D) aliens whose visas have been revoked?

Deny Federal Funds: If elected President, will you encourage compliance with Federal law by implementing a reduction of at least 10% of discretionary federal grants and highway funds to cities, states, universities, and other entities that undermine Federal law by implementing sanctuary policies, issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, or offering education benefits to illegal aliens (such as in-state tuition) that are not available to all legal residents and citizens?

Close Financial Loopholes: If elected President, will you rewrite the Treasury regulations to close the loophole that allows illegal aliens to open U.S. based bank accounts?

Replace Visa Lottery and Chain Migration with Merit Based Immigration System: If elected President, will you eliminate the visa lottery program and change current preference categories that guarantee automatic entry for aging parents and extended family members and replace it with a system that fairly and objectively evaluates at least 50% of applicants based on characteristics such as education, skills, English ability, and age?

Pathway to Citizenship: If elected President, will you take a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens off the table?

Seek Necessary Authority: If elected President, will you ask Congress for necessary laws or funds to execute these commitments?

Huckabee’s pledge today indicates that he answered yes to each of the questions on Sessions’ list.

# # #

U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) serves on four committees – Armed Services, Judiciary, Energy and Natural Resources, and Budget. Visit his website at www.sessions.senate.gov. NOTE: Please do not reply to this email. For further information, please contact Senator Sessions’ press office at (202) 224-4124.

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