More on Huckabee and immigration–It’s about the children
I have felt the need for some time to write a little more about Mike Huckabee’s stance on immigration. This is especially true, since Ann Coulter has decided to raise her voice about something which she has not researched at all, apparently.
Mike Huckabee has a position on immigration that intersects with his belief of pro-life and then the two positions converge to make a position that is both strong and compassionate. The original Huckabee blogger said it best, way back in 2005:
In a nutshell, Huckabee’s stance on illegal immigration is that illegals who are caught should be deported. Period. But if they are not caught, and instead remain here to raise their families, Huckabee’s pro-life sentiment drives him to support providing prenatal care for all unborn children–no questions asked. And because the Arkansas constitution dictates that all children, regardless of legal status, be provided with public education K-12, Huckabee believes those who graduate and are academically eligible deserve to be eligible for in-state tuition rates.
Take a moment to read further and you will find this from an editorial in the Morning News of northwest Arkansas:
Gov. Mike Huckabee has a definite flair for infuriating people by refusing to adhere to a rigid party line. That’s one of the things we appreciate most about him, although we still have our disagreements. This talent was most recently displayed when Huckabee weighed in on the recent immigration raid on an Arkadelphia poultry plant. The raid netted 119 people who were working at the plant and had bought fake IDs from a former worker. Most, if not all, of those arrested in the raid have since been deported. In a simplistic world of bumper-sticker politics the arrest and deportation of 119 illegal immigrants would be non-controversial. No one — including the governor — endorses law-breaking.
But in the real world there are all too often complications. There are added considerations that go beyond the simple formula of “They broke the law so they should be arrested and deported.” In this case there were some 30 complications. About 30 children were left in limbo when one or both of their parents were arrested without warning and removed from the country. Huckabee thought those children, some of whom are U.S. citizens by birth, deserved more consideration. He went beyond just saying so and directed the state Health Department and the Department of Human Services to provide whatever assistance they can to these children. Huckabee also released $1,000 from his emergency fund to buy food, clothing and even school supplies for the children.That brought the wrath of the righteous down on the governor. Jim Harris, a spokesman for Huckabee, said the office has been getting calls from as far away as California from people irate over the governor’s supposed coddling of illegal residents. But that’s not what this is about. Huckabee has never suggested that those 119 people shouldn’t have been arrested and dealt with according to the law. What he has said, and we agree with him here, is that the arrests and deportations could have been better coordinated between federal, state and local agencies and that the interests of the children could and should have been taken into account. There was no urgency, nothing to justify separating these families this way. That’s what this is about and to his credit that’s what Huckabee, and not his cranky callers, understands.
It is very clear. Mike Huckabee has an understanding of the immigration issue that a lot of us do not have. This comes from having to deal with it as the Governor of Arkansas. I know, first hand, about the explosion of illegal immigrants in Arkansas. I work there every day and I can see it is not an easy issue to deal with. There may not be a good, perfect answer to the problem. Huckabee was trying to make the best out of a bad situation and take care of the children. Some people like Ann Coulter, want to make a issue out of it, but in reality, they just don’t get it like Mike Huckabee.
That’s my take!
Larry
Thank you Larry for bringing the truth. This is a wonderful piece and a true representation of Mike Huckabee as an amazing leader while still being a compassionate human being.
Kerry
“There was no urgency, nothing to justify separating these families this way.”
I disagree with this statment. The justification was that these parents were here illegally. They are responsible for putting their children in this situation. The American middle class should not be financially responsible for this. These kids should have been deported with their parents. What is so hard to understand about that?
sad..he should have asked the family if they wanted to go with there parents.
i doubt the children would have not went with them.
End of story.
Instead he always looks for ways to bend the rules and has no boundaries to protect the US from people that violate our laws and look for ways to take advantage of us.
I am sorry it has taken me so long to approve the comments. I just arrived back home from a trip to relatives.
First, let me address V.Cobb’s comment. You are correct about the kids being deported with their parents. They should have been. However, Huckabee had nothing to do with this. It was the US Immigration service that performed the raid. He was not against the raid, but he felt the children should have been considered. They should have been deported or arrangements should have been made for them.
As for Gt’s comment, please read the article I linked to. Mike Huckabee had no control over the immigration raid. He was not looking for ways to bend the rules for illegal immigrants. If you had read the article, you would have seen he was only trying to take care of the children.
Legally, the children can’t just be deported … if they were born in the US, they are citizens of this country, regardless of how they ended up to be born here.