If someone would actually press him on it instead of letting him joke his way out of every question he was asked, I'd like to see Huckabee explain this one:

During the 2001 regular session of the Arkansas Legislature, Mike Huckabee supported giving driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

How did he do that? Here are a few excerpts from 2001 articles about the legislation and Huckabee's support of it, as expressed by a spokesman, his liaison to the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

"In other action Tuesday, the House rejected a bill that would allow the issuance of Arkansas driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The vote on House Bill 2212 by Rep. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, was 46-46, with 51 votes needed to pass the bill. HB2212, which remains available for House consideration, would amend Act 1099 of 1997, which enumerates various conditions under which a driver's license can't be issued by the state Office of Driver Services. HB2212 would delete the act's provision that bans the issuing of a license to someone 'who is making an initial application for an Arkansas driver's license and who is not lawfully within the United States" or to "any person who is not lawfully within the United States.' Steele and other proponents of HB2212 said Hispanics, both legally and illegally in the United States, have been discriminated against when attempting to obtain a driver's license on the basis of their skin color or accent. Because employees of the Office of Driver Services may lack the training or expertise to determine if an applicant is an illegal immigrant, Steele said that status shouldn't be a condition of obtaining a license." (Michael Wickline, "Senate OKs Plan To Raise Teacher Pay," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 3/14/01)

The bill apparently had the Huckabee Administrations support, but denied that it would allow giving licenses to illegal immigrants. Legislators weren't convinced:

When asked about the bill, former Arkansas State Representative Jake Files added, "I remember Bob Trevino working all the legislators hard on the merits of this bill in committees and around the Capitol. As Trevino was a member of the Governor's staff, it was apparent that the Governor was supportive of the bill or his staff members would not have been. We(legislators who voted against it) were concerned about the ramifications of the bill and the message that it sent promoting Arkansas as a "safe haven" for illegals."

In 2005, Huckabee bashed a legislator for sponsoring a bill that would require proof of citizenship in order to vote:

During the legislation session, Huckabee criticized an immigration bill by Republican senators Jim Holt of Springdale and Denny Altes of Fort Smith as un-Christian, un-American, irresponsible and anti-life.

Senate Bill 206, which died in the Senate, would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote and also force state agencies to report suspected cases of people living in the country illegally. Holt, R-Springdale, replied later to Huckabee's comments that Christian charity does not include turning a blind eye to lawbreaking.

I am not real concerned with the immigration issue. I think it blown out of proportion and surrounded by xenophobic rhetoric. I also think it's very niave to support immigration on religious ground, but that's another debate. But this is just more evidence that Huckabee is not the "authentic conservative" that he claims to be.