The newsways are buzzing today with Governor Huckabee's new Immigration Enforcement and Border Security plan.

Surprisingly, given his "dovish" statements only last week, the plan would get tough on border security, support local immigration enforcement authorities, and break up the identity theft/revenue enhancement game being played by the IRS, the Social Security Administration, and those who knowingly hire illegals with falsified tax IDs.

In my view, Governor Huckabee's new plan is both sensible and long overdue. With it, he has taken a decisive step to repair the damage to his credibility from last week's Florida CNN/YouTube debates.

Where to now?

In last week's debates, Governor Huckabee strongly defended his earlier proposal to make children of illegal aliens eligible for Arkansas scholarships. In reaction, many will no doubt question the sincerity behind the Governor's new immigration plan. To head off the inevitable criticism, Governor Huckabee needs to revisit the now-controversial decisions he supported as Governor of Arkansas and explain to the voters how he can defend those earlier decisions in view of his new "get tough" stand on immigration reform.