Former Arkansas governor, possible presidential contender and man of the cloth Mike Huckabee spoke with a GOP donor at the Iowa Agriculture Summit over the weekend where he decried immigrants who are only here for the freebies.
HUCKABEE: A country that does not have secure borders is really not a country anymore. I think we've made all the wrong decisions as it relates to immigration because we've put the focus on 'what do we do with all the people who are here' when the question is 'what do we do to stem the tide of people who are rushing over because they heard there is a bowl of food just across the border if you can rush across and get there now?' [...]
If you're coming because you hear there's free food, free divers’ licenses -- you might even get to vote -- and we'll also give you a free education and free healthcare, then I think we meet up at the door and say 'you know what, it may not be a good fit.'
To be fair, it has to be difficult to stake out a position that is both true to your Christian religion and sufficiently xenophobic for Republican voters. They are, after all, entirely contradictory. It's not as if Republican voters are also predominately Christian.
Oh, wait.
As a compromise between two competing ideologies, Huckabee tries to frame his position as a patriotic position in which he questions the motivations of those who immigrate to America. We may find a place for them, he says, if their goal is to become a liberty-loving American just like him, but if they're desperate for food they should look elsewhere.