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- Not to be missed, Mike Huckabee tries to prove his illegal-immigrant-hating cred with the release of his immigration policy, which his campaign has dubbed the "Secure America Plan." The plan includes finishing construction of a border fence by July 1, 2010; "preventing amnesty" by giving undocumented immigrants 120 days to get out of the country; imposing steep fines on employers that hire undocumented workers; giving local law enforcement more power to deal with immigration cases; instate a "FairTax"; ending the visa lottery program for those who already have siblings in the United States; and discouraging duel citizenship. There's a portion in the plan where he says we should "improve our immigration process so that those patiently and responsibly seeking to come here legally will not have to wait decades to share in the American dream," but unfortunately, he doesn't elaborate. The plan is "partially modeled on a proposal" by Mark Krikorian, see Sam's take here. Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, has been known to pen lines like "immigrant communities ... serve as the sea, as Mao might have put it, within which the terrorists swim as fish."
- John Edwards, still in policy overdrive, released his "Plan for Opportunity for all Americans" on Friday, to address racial disparities in the United States. The plan integrates some of his previous policy statements on universal health care, ending poverty, making housing more affordable, and improving schools with additional measures to address disparities in the criminal justice system, protect voting rights, and enforce existing civil rights laws.
--Kate Sheppard
