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Huckabee Calls For Immigration ‘Hiatus’ From Terror-Sponsoring States, Then ‘Rapidly Backtracks’

Today on the stump in South Carolina, Mike Huckabee said “we ought to put a hiatus on people who come here and give them permits if they come from countries that sponsor and harbor terrorists.”

This is just the latest instance of Huckabee’s pandering to the right wing over immigration. As Arkansas Governor, Huckabee favored scholarships to public colleges for undocumented immigrants who did well in high school. But in his campaign, Huckabee has adopted a right-wing think tank’s immigration plan that calls for sending all 12 million illegal immigrations home within 120 days.

Hotline reports, “The Huckabee edict, let’s call it, would forbid entry to folks from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, the five nations listed on the Secretary of State’s watch list.” Chip Saltzman, Huckabee’s campaign manager, defended the Governor’s stance as an attempt to “make sure the bad guys don’t get in.” Watch it:

[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2008/01/huckillegal.320.240.flv]

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But now, the Huckabee team has “rapidly backtracked from the governor’s earlier comment that he would impose a ‘hiatus’ on immigration from nations that harbor terrorists.” Huckabee adviser and former Fox News pundit Jim Pinkerton explained, “’Hiatus’ is synonym for thorough review. We are not making policy on the stump in Rock Hill, S.C.”