EDITOR'S NOTE: All of a candidates' actions and promises on immigration are considered in these three overarching categories --

• what do you do with the 12-20 million illegal aliens already here;
• what do you do to stop future illegal immigration, and
• what do you do to protect American workers and communities from the current peak flood of foreign workers?

OFFICIAL STANCE on Amnesty/Legalization for illegal aliens and on Attrition Through Enforcement that pushes illegal aliens to go back home:

"While visiting North Greenville University today, former Arkansas Governor and Presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee became the first presidential candidate to sign a 'no amnesty' pledge. He was joined at the event by Roy Beck, President of Americans for Better Immigration.

'I think it's important to be very clear,' said Huckabee. 'There should be no doubt about my Secure America Plan: our plan is not an amnesty or a sanctuary city plan but a proper plan for the rule of law. We will secure our borders and build the fence within 18 months.'

Following is the pledge signed: 'I pledge to oppose amnesty or any other special path to citizenship for the millions of foreign nationals unlawfully present in the United States. As President, I will fully implement enforcement measures that, over time, will lead to the attrition of our illegal immigrant population. I also pledge to make security of our borders a top priority of my administration.'" January 16, 2008; Huckabee for President, Inc.

Click here to read report by Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA and president of Americans for Better Immigration, detailing the "No-Amensty" pledge signed by Gov. Mike Huckabee on January 16, 2008.

Click here to watch FOX News' coverage of pledge signing event.

• Policies that promote or tolerate amnesty will be rejected.
• Propose to provide all illegal immigrants a 120-day window 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, barred from future reentry for a period of 10 years.
• This is not a "touchback" provision.  Those who leave this country and apply to return from their home country would go to the back of the line. MikeHuckabee.com
  

The following is an excerpt from the January 30, 2008 Republican debate at the Reagan Library in California:

HUCKABEE: If we don't have a secure fence and have just this open door that people can come in and out at will, we're never going to deal with this issue effectively and responsibly.

And today, many Americans are angry not that people want to come here -- and I've repeatedly said and I'm going to say it again -- people in this country I think are grateful to God they're in a land that people are trying to break into and not one they're trying to break out of.

So it's not that we're building a fence so we can keep our people in or keep people out, but that people who do come here would have to come legally.

And touching the issue of those born here is not the challenge. It's two things. It's first making sure that that fence is built, I think within 18 months. And the second thing is that we have a process where the people who are here would have to go to the back of the line and start over.

And it's not to be cruel. I want to make sure you understand. It's to make that everybody who is living in our boundaries has their head up and lives in the light, not the darkness, and doesn't run and hide every time they see a police car.

We owe it not just to the people who have waited in line a long time. We owe it to the people who do want to live here and work here, but create a system that is legal, that makes sense, and that actually protects our borders but protects the dignity and worth of every person.

The following has been excerpted from the NBC ‘Meet the Press’ transcript for Dec. 30, 2007

MR. RUSSERT:  Let me ask you about immigration because it is your consistency on that issue, I think, that is going to be talked about.  The debate in November, you were active--talked about shipping, sending illegal immigrants home, and you made this impassioned plea.  Let's watch. (Videotape)

GOV. HUCKABEE:  In all due respect, we're a better country than to punish children for what their parents did.  We're a better country than that.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT:  "We're a better country than punishing children for what their"...

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT:  ..."parents did."

GOV. HUCKABEE:  I still believe that, yeah.

MR. RUSSERT:  But a week later, after that comment, you came out with this: "The Secure America Plan."

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT:  "Propose to provide all illegal immigrants a 120-day window to register with the Bureau of Citizenship" "Immigration Services and leave the country.  Those who register" "return to their home country will face no penalty if they later apply," "those who do not return home will be, when caught, barred from future re-entry for a period of 10 years." Children born here are American citizens.

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT:  And you were saying that.

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT:  "Don't punish those kids." A week later, you said, "No, no, no, send the parents home," and what happens to the kids?

GOV. HUCKABEE:  They go with their parents.  I mean, I can't imagine a parent not taking their children...

MR. RUSSERT:  But they're American citizens.  Why do they have to leave the country?

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Because they're--first, before they're American citizens, they're the children of their parents.

MR. RUSSERT:  But aren't we a "better country," to quote someone, than that?

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Let me be very clear.  I stand beside my statement, but here's what we have to do to fix the immigration problem.  We've got to seal our border, something our government has been dysfunctional and failed to do. It's also very clear the American people are not going to tolerate people who have gotten here illegally to get in the front of the line.  The only way they can get into the back of the line is to go back to the point of origin, to get behind that line, and then modernize that line so it shouldn't take eight years to process a piece of paper to get people the necessary paperwork to be able to do that.

MR. RUSSERT:  But, Governor, this is, this is important, because this is what you said back in 2005.  "Responding to a question about illegal aliens, Huckabee said `our economy would collapse' without them."

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Mm-hmm.

MR. RUSSERT:  Do you believe that?

GOV. HUCKABEE:  I think it would be very, very difficult to do construction and agriculture without them.  That's why we need a policy that puts everyone in this country in a legal position.  And, Tim, let me, let me go further.

MR. RUSSERT:  But, this, this is...

GOV. HUCKABEE:  Let me explain why.

MR. RUSSERT:  ...important, because your plan says send them all home.

GOV. HUCKABEE:  No, I did not send them home.  They will go home within 120-day window, and then they have the process of starting to return.

MR. RUSSERT:  But that's 15 million people.  You're saying to do that would collapse the American economy, and now that's exactly what you're proposing.

GOV. HUCKABEE:  No, I don't think it would collapse the American economy if people went back and did their process of becoming legal.  And all of them aren't going to go back on the same day.  There's going to be a window of time.  How long it's going to take for them to come back, I don't know.  But part of the process, the first process, if you read my entire plan, is seal the border.  Seal the border.  If you don't do that, then you don't have any control of who's here, why they're here and what they're doing.  This process has to be modernized.  It's our government that's been dysfunctional.

Tim, I stand by many of the state--all of the statements I've made, and one of them has been, let's thank God we live in a country people are trying to break into, not one they're trying to break out of.  But let's have a rule of law. Let's make everyone live by it.  And let me tell you why I believe my plan is not only a plan that respects the rule of law, but I think it's the most humane plan.  Because nobody living in this country ought to live with his head down, ought to live in the shadows, ought to live in fear, ought to live every day looking if there's a police car or a border patrol, running and hiding.  I want people to live in this country with their heads up.  I want them to be able to, if they're going to work here, to work legally.  I want them to be able to pay the same taxes, live under the same laws, and also to be able to have the kind of sense of liberty that this country is bound by. That's what we're trying to achieve.  Let's not forget that our federal government has made a mess of this.  As a governor, I had to deal with their mess, and I believe, as president, one of the highest priorities is to fix the problem. Dec. 30, 2007; ‘Meet the Press’ transcript

"I agree with the mayor that the first step is a secure border, because otherwise nothing really matters. But I do think the pathway has to include people going to the back, not the front of the line. There can't be an amnesty policy, because that's an insult to all the people who waited, sometimes, ridiculously, for years, just to be able to make the transition here. I think a reasonable window of time in which a person would go back to the native country, start the process, but the real challenge is that our government, which has failed miserably in all of this -- it's got to get its act together.

"If you can get an American Express card in two weeks, it shouldn't take seven years to get a work permit to come to this country in order to work on a farm.

"So if our government is incapable of making that process in that length of time, then we should do it in a way to outsource it. And here's why: When people come to this country, they shouldn't fear. They shouldn't live in hiding. They ought to have their heads up, because the one thing about being an American is, we believe every person ought to have his or her head up and proud, and nobody should have to be in hiding because they're illegal when our government ought to make it so that people can reasonably come here in a legal fashion." December 9, 2007; GOP Univision Debate

WALLACE: But last year in an interview, you said something somewhat different. You said this, "I think that the rational approach is to find a way to give people a pathway to citizenship." Governor, in your new plan, the only path is to go home and to get on the back of the line, which, of course, would mean years of waiting. Why the change?

HUCKABEE: Well, I don't think there's an inconsistency. When I said a pathway, I didn't say what the pathway was.

I now believe that the only thing the American people are going to accept — and, frankly, the only thing that really makes sense — is a pathway that sends people back to the starting point.

But this idea of the 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 any place 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 and 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 take days, maybe weeks, and then people could come back in the workforce.

Let me tell you why that's important. Two reasons. 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.

Secondly, I want people who 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're trying to feed their families. I don't begrudge them that.

I say every day I thank God I'm in a country people are trying to break into, not break out of. But let's give them a means by which they can get here through 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 do so with dignity and with a sense of pride, not a sense of fear.

Dec. 9, 2007; Gov. Huckabee on Fox News Sunday

"Be mad at the government, be mad about immigration,” he said. “I’m mad about it, too. But let’s punish the right people for breaking the law. A 6-year-old crossing the border doesn’t know he’s breaking the law ... Huckabee said he ... opposed amnesty for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in the country." December 4, 2007; Fort Smith Times Record (Ark.)

"I didn't sign the 'No Amnesty' pledge because it was a silly piece of campaign propaganda cooked up by Tancredo. Candidates don't make pledges for each other to sign, and he knows that." August 4, 2007; LibertyPost.org

"Illegal immigrants who commit crimes 'must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and incarcerated or deported,' he said. He is opposed to amnesty and believes that 'those who came here illegally years ago and are now law-abiding taxpayers must pay a significant fine as admission of their guilt and have a choice of deportation or a rigorous process toward legal status.'" July 16, 2007; Des Moines Register (Iowa)

"When it comes to illegal immigration, do you think we should allow illegal aliens currently in the country to become citizens or at least give them the opportunity to or the opportunity to stay as guest workers, or do you think they should have to leave the United States?

Mike Huckabee: Well, I'm not as sure that leaving and then coming back is as important as it is to acknowledge that what they've done is illegal, pay a fine, and then get in line behind the people that are going through the process of being here legally. It's important that we have a legal process. 2006; RightWingNews.com

Reject Mexico's "matricula consular" card, which functions as an illegal-immigrant identification card. MikeHuckabee.com

"Huckabee said students who had met high academic standards are worthy of scholarships. 'Our country is better than that, to punish children for what their parents did in breaking the law,' he said." December 4, 2007; Fort Smith Times Record (Ark.)

Gov. Mike Huckabee Thursday denounced a bill by Sen. Jim Holt that would deny state benefits to illegal immigrants as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life ... Senate Bill 206, filed Wednesday, also would require proof of citizenzhip to register to vote and would require state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally ... 'Even if benefits to people who are in the U.S illegally could be stopped, 'I don't understand how a practicing Christian can turn his back on a child from this or any other state,' Huckabee said ... Huckabee said he took exception to characterization of immigrants in the bill and by its supporters as exploiters of social programs. 'They pay sales taxes on their groceries,' Huckabee said. 'They pay fuel taxes. If they're using a fake Social Security number, they're paying Social Security taxes and will never receive any benefit ... Something that's not worth sharing is not worth celebrating,' Huckabee said. 'This is the kind of country that opens its doors. This bill expresses an un-American attitude.' January 28, 2005; Arkansas News Bureau

"Mike Huckabee is overselling his record of cracking down on illegal aliens as governor, claiming he ordered his state police to arrest illegal aliens when in fact he never signed the agreement with federal authorities that would have allowed it. Mr. Huckabee signed a bill that began the process, but he never followed through with signing an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to secure training for state police officers. Without it, they cannot enforce federal immigration law. 'This is a policy difference, but the facts are the facts — under Governor Huckabee's administration, there was never even any effort to begin negotiating with Homeland Security,' said former state Rep. Jeremy Hutchinson, the Republican who sponsored the 2005 law. Mr. Huckabee's campaign acknowledged he didn't follow through, but said it was lack of time, not lack of interest." Decmber 26, 2007; The Washington Times

"Ashley, first of all let me just express that you're a little misinformed. We never passed a bill that gave special privileges to the children of illegals to go to college ... Let me tell you what I did do. I supported the bill that would have allowed those children who had been in our schools their entire school life, the opportunity to have the same scholarship that their peers had, who had also gone to high school with them and sat in the same classrooms. They couldn't just move in in their senior year and go to college. November 28, 2007; CNN (CNN/YouTube, Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, St. Petersburg, FL,)

"Gov. Mike Huckabee says he's not afraid of risking his political future by speaking out against a recent immigration raid at an Arkadelphia poultry plant even though calls to his office have been 'about 1,000 to one' against his stance ... 'How is our government benefiting from an abandoned 1-year-old? I'm thinking as a parent, if I was in that position and my only crime was plucking a chicken to feed my family. I didn't hurt anyone,' he said. 'It would be different if the crime was robbing a bank with a gun or making methamphetamine.'" August 5, 2005; The Associated Press via ALIPAC

• Eliminate the admission category for adult brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. MikeHuckabee.com
  

• Eliminate the visa lottery system. MikeHuckabee.com
  

• Employment is the chief draw for most illegal immigrants and denying them jobs is the centerpiece of an attrition strategy.
• Impose steep fines and penalties on employers that violate the law.
• Institute a universal, mandatory citizenship verification system as part of the normal hiring process.
• Prevent the IRS and the Social Security Administration from accepting fraudulent Social Security numbers or numbers that don't match the employees' names.* MikeHuckabee.com
  
  *This policy will be drafted to comply with the final federal court decisions on this issue.

OFFICIAL STANCE on punishing employers who hire illegal aliens

• 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. Mick Huckabee.com
  

OFFICIAL STANCE on empowering local enforcement of immigration laws

• Promote better cooperation on enforcement by supporting legislative measures such as the CLEAR Act, which aims to systematize the relationship between local law and federal immigration officials.
  
  Encourage immigration-law training for police. Local authorities must be provided the tools, training, and funding they need so local police can turn illegal immigrants over to the federal authorities. MikeHuckabee.com

OFFICIAL STANCE on implementation of entry/exit system to reduce illegal aliens who overstay visas

• End exemptions for Mexicans and Canadians to the US-VISIT program, which tracks the arrival and departure of foreign visitors. Since these countries account for the vast majority of foreigners coming here (85 percent), such a policy clearly violates Congress' intent in mandating this check-in/check-out system. MikeHuckabee.com
  

"'There's a couple of things we're going to do differently,' Huckabee told about 300 supporters in Rock Hill, shortly after arriving in the state from Michigan. "I say we ought to put a hiatus on people who come in here ... if they come from countries that sponsor and harbor terrorists ... Let's say, until you get your act in order, and we get our act in order, we're not going to just let you keep coming and threaten the future and safety of America,' he said. 'Every one of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 came here legally. Our government welcomed them in,' Huckabee said." January 15, 2007; The Associated Press

Watch video of Huckabee calling for a hiatus on immigrant visas that come from states that sponsor, or harbor terrorists.

OFFICIAL STANCE on the fence and other strengthening of the border

• Ensure that an interlocking surveillance camera system is installed along the border by July 1, 2010.
• Ensure that the border fence construction is completed by July 1, 2010. MikeHuckabee.com
  

The following is an excerpt from the January 30, 2008 Republican debate at the Reagan Library in California:

HUCKABEE: What we've got to do is to have a secure border fence, something I have proposed that we do within 18 months of taking office.

If we don't have a secure fence and have just this open door that people can come in and out at will, we're never going to deal with this issue effectively and responsibly.

And today, many Americans are angry not that people want to come here -- and I've repeatedly said and I'm going to say it again -- people in this country I think are grateful to God they're in a land that people are trying to break into and not one they're trying to break out of.

So it's not that we're building a fence so we can keep our people in or keep people out, but that people who do come here would have to come legally.

"Huckabee said he supported construction of a border fence." December 4, 2007; Fort Smith Times Record (Ark.)

OFFICIAL STANCE on cities and states that forbid certain enforcement of immigration laws

• 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. MikeHuckabee.com
  

OFFICIAL STANCE on allowing illegal aliens to obtain driver's licenses

• End exemptions for Mexicans and Canadians to the US-VISIT program, which tracks the arrival and departure of foreign visitors. Since these countries account for the vast majority of foreigners coming here (85 percent), such a policy clearly violates Congress' intent in mandating this check-in/check-out system.
• Reject Mexico's "matricula consular" card, which functions as an illegal-immigrant identification card. MikeHuckabee.com
  

"Huckabee said students who had met high academic standards are worthy of scholarships. 'Our country is better than that, to punish children for what their parents did in breaking the law,' he said." December 4, 2007; Fort Smith Times Record (Ark.)

"After Romney and Giuliani argued over immigration, Romney turned on Huckabee for a proposal he made as governor of Arkansas to give breaks in college tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. 'Mike, that's not your money,' he said. 'That's the taxpayers' money. And the right thing here is to say to people that are here legally as citizens or legal aliens, we're going to help you. But if you're here illegally, you ought to be able to return home or get in line with everybody else, but illegals are not going to get taxpayer-funded breaks that are better than our own citizens.' Huckabee responded: 'In all due respect, we're a better country than to punish children for what their parents did. We're a better country than that.' 'I worked my way through college,' Huckabee added. 'I started work when I was 14, and I had to pay my own way through, and I know how hard it was to get that degree. I'm standing here tonight on this stage because I got an education. If I hadn't had the education, I wouldn't be standing on this stage. I might be picking lettuce. I might be a person who needed government support rather than who was giving so much money in taxes I want to get rid of the tax code that we've got and make it really different.'" November 29, 2007; International Herald Tribune

"He is already in trouble for offering college scholarships to deserving children of illegal immigrants in Arkansas. 'We never should grind our heel in the face of a child,' he has said." November 28, 2007; TIME