Former Arkansas governor and GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Sunday that children of illegal immigrants shouldn't be punished for the actions of their parents.
In 2006, Huckabee told The Washington Post that the "rational approach is to find a way to give people a pathway to citizenship." He also advocated as governor for financial assistance for illegal immigrants attending in-state colleges.
On "Fox News Sunday," Huckabee insisted, "I've always been the same place: Secure the border first, don't provide amnesty, but don't be irrational."
Huckabee pointed to an illegal immigrant in Arkansas who had come into the country with his parents as a small child and ended up graduating valedictorian of his high school class.
"Would we rather have him one day become a neurosurgeon or a tomato-picker?" Huckabee said. "I've never regretted taking the stand that you don't punish children for something their parents did illegally. If you did, the next time the person gets stopped in a car, give the kid in the backseat the ticket instead of the dad."
The illegal immigration issue has sharply divided the Republican Party ever since front-runner Donald Trump brought it up in his campaign announcement on June 16.
The real estate magnate was roundly criticized at the time for saying Mexico was sending its criminals across the border, and he lost several business deals over the statement. But he has only risen to the top of polls since then, and has taken credit for bringing the issue to the GOP debate.
More recently, he has called for an end to the practice of women entering the United States to give birth. The children are granted immediate U.S. citizenship, making it easier for their families to also stay in the country.
The so-called "anchor baby" issue also has split the party, with some saying the practice can't be stopped without changing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Trump, and some other prominent conservatives including radio hosts Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity, have argued that the amendment does not guarantee birthright citizenship, but leaves the issue in the hands of Congress.
Rep. Steve King of Iowa in January introduced legislation that would limit birthright citizenship to children with at least one parent who is a citizen or national, a legal permanent resident living in the United States, or an individual who is serving on active duty status in the Armed Forces.
Huckabee said people are not angry about immigration because they hate immigrants, but because they see their way of life threatened.
"They see their jobs just disappearing, going to Mexico, to China, to Indonesia," he told Fox. "If we deal with the real, acute problems, the immigration problem is not going to be as acute."
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