Governor Huckabee has gone over the edge I am sorry to say. He doesn’t think being an illegal immigrant is any reason to deny anyone benefits for services offered by the state.  Senators Jim Holt of Springdale and Denny Altes of Fort Smith, have filed a bill to prevent anyone not a citizen from voting and receiving the services provided to legal citizens. The governor says that the bill "enflames" those who are racists and bigots and makes them think there's a real problem when there is not.

Not a problem? What rock is the governor living under? State after state is reporting that the people who are illegally residing in their states are sapping the resources and leaving precious little for the taxpayers and other citizens who qualify for programs of the state. Arkansas is a state that is facing all kinds of economic turmoil due to school and medical issues and the governor wants to furnish the people illegally here with services.

The reason? According to the January 28 issue of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Huckabee said raising such a bill without cause only makes bigots think falsely that immigrants are stealing their benefits. Illegal immigrants "can’t vote, can’t collect Social Security benefits," Huckabee said. "They don’t get a tax refund, but they pay sales tax, gasoline tax, and property tax when they pay their rent. We don’t let them vote. They don’t get welfare benefits. And they don’t get unemployment benefits." So what that they pay taxes etc.? They are here illegally and don’t qualify for benefits. That is the price for not being a citizen, and illegally here at that.

The governor took an oath to uphold the Constitutions of both the United States and the State of Arkansas. He above all should understand that what he wants to do is wrong.  He can’t uphold the respective Constitutions and offer benefits to those who aren’t in this state legally. Making statements about their contributions of taxes etc. isn’t an excuse for giving them benefits provided by taxpaying citizens.  We can barely afford what is being done now and to extend the benefits to people who don’t qualify will only make the burden greater on the rest of us.

The bottom line though is what follows, said by an individual who supports the law being passed, "I’m saying anybody who comes legally is welcome as long as they abide by the constitution," [Joe] McCutcheon said. "What does the governor not understand about the rule of law?" 

We are a nation founded and operated by the rule of law. There are laws that require all who weren’t born in this land to go through certain procedures to be here legally and to become citizens. What incentive will anyone have to abide by the law if they are allowed to ignore it without applicable consequences?  

Huckabee mentioned closed borders to those who are now citizens or whose ancestors were immigrants, and what would have happened if the borders were closed to those people. This argument is like mixing apples and oranges and calling them vegetables.  The issue there is legal immigration which isn’t the topic. They came, followed the rules, and became legal residents of the country. The topic is illegal immigration and what we must do to keep our nation from being any more Balkanized than what it is already.

Governor Huckabee has a duty and it is to the citizens of this state and not to those who aren’t citizens in any way shape or form. 

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© 07/23/2011  DEC