Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee gave more reason for concern to those who doubt that he has the intelligence or experience necessary to deal with foreign policy matters as President of the United States when, in reaction to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, he declared that we’re all in danger from Pakistani wickedness because Pakistan is the source of the largest number of illegal immigrants into the United States except for Latin America.

First, there’s an assassination in Pakistan. Then, Mike Huckabee informs us all that there’s a flood of Pakistanis illegally entering the United States. It’s clearly designed as a recipe for fear.

Luckily, it’s a recipe for fear souffle, easily deflated. You see, what Mike Huckabee says about the national threat from Pakistanis sneaking into the United States just isn’t true.

Pakistanis are not at the top of the of the list the Department of Homeland Security keeps of people caught entering the United States illegally. That’s the official word from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, 435 Pakistanis were deported from the United States in the fiscal year of 2007. However, 521 Filipinos were deported during that time as well. You don’t hear Mike Huckabee warning about a crisis of Filipinos flooding over the nation’s borders.

Mike Huckabee got the facts just plain wrong, but he won’t admit it. Haven’t we already had enough of that kind of arrogance from our President?

(Source: Boston Globe, December 28, 2007)