Romney Campaign Press Release - The Washington Post : Gov. Huckabee Cannot Deny He Supported In-State Tuition Breaks For Illegals

"Pinocchios For Huckabee On Illegals"

The Washington Post

By Michael Dobbs, The Post's Fact Checker

December 18, 2007

"Now that he has become a front-runner, Mike Huckabee is feeling the heat from other Republican candidates who ... [have] accused Huckabee of having 'championed' an effort to permit illegal immigrants to benefit from in-state tuition rates at state universities. Huckabee has denied the charge..."

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"Huckabee's denials fly in the face of the record."

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"A Democratic representative named Joyce Elliott, had already proposed legislation granting in-state tuition status to undocumented immigrants. During talks with the governor's staff, Elliott agreed to include a scholarship provision in her bill ..."

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"She says that both parts of the bill were fully supported by Huckabee.

"'I never had the slightest indication that he wanted any changes,' Elliott told me, when I called her in Little Rock. 'He clearly supported the entire bill, and I never heard anything different from them.'

"Huckabee defended the bill in conversations with reporters, and expressed disappointment when the measure failed to pass the Arkansas Senate by just two votes."

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"Asked about the measure during the November 28 CNN/YouTube debate, Huckabee said that his proposal applied to students who had been in Arkansas schools from the time they were 'five or six years old,' were 'A-plus' students, 'drug and alcohol-free', and in the process of 'applying for citizenship' ... a point reiterated by his spokeswoman Kirsten Fedewa.

"'He did not support in-state tuition,' Fedewa said in an e-mail. 'He supported scholarships for students who qualified.'

"The distinction that Huckabee is attempting to draw is an artificial one. His original State of the State address talked about making all Arkansas high school graduates eligible for state 'financial aid,' not just A-plus students applying for citizenship..."

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"But it is untrue to claim that he 'did not support in-state tuition' for illegal immigrants. Three Pinocchios."

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