07-14-2008
John McCain speaks to the National Council of La Raza today in California and the spotlight will be on the immigration issue. Now that the Republican primary is over, is McCain flip flopping around on his comprehensive immigration plan? I don’t think so. Read my analysis down below but first read McCain’s comments on immigration to La Raza:
Let me address one other issue important to all of us. As you know, I and many other colleagues twice attempted to pass comprehensive immigration legislation to fix our broken borders; ensure respect for the laws of this country; recognize the important economic contribution of immigrant laborers; apprehend those who came here illegally to commit crimes; and deal practically and humanely with those who came here, as my distant ancestors did, to build a better, safer life for their families, without excusing the fact they came here illegally or granting them privileges before those who have been waiting their turn outside the country. Many Americans did not believe us when we said we would secure our borders, and so we failed in our efforts. I don’t want to fail again to achieve comprehensive immigration reform. We must prove we have the resources to secure our borders and use them, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States. When we have achieved border security goal, we must enact and implement the other parts of practical, fair and necessary immigration policy. We have economic and humanitarian responsibilities as well, and they require no less dedication from us in meeting them.
Several years ago, the leading newspaper in my state published an article putting faces on the tragic human costs of illegal immigration, and I would like to briefly quote from it:
“Maria Hernandez Perez was No. 93. She was almost 2. She had thick brown hair and eyes the color of chocolate.
“Kelia Velazquez-Gonzales, 16, carried a Bible in her backpack. She was No. 109
“John Doe, No. 143, died with a rosary encircling his neck. His eyes were wide open.”
We can’t let immigrants break our laws with impunity. We can’t leave our borders undefended. But these people are God’s children, who wanted simply to be Americans, and we cannot forget the humanity God commands of us as we seek a remedy to this problem.
I spoke recently at both the NALEO and LULAC conferences, as did Senator Obama. I did not use those occasions to criticize Senator Obama. I would prefer not to do so today. But he suggested in his speeches there and here, that I turned my back on comprehensive reform out of political necessity. I feel I must, as they say, correct the record. At a moment of great difficulty in my campaign, when my critics said it would be political suicide for me to do so, I helped author with Senator Kennedy comprehensive immigration reform, and fought for its passage. I cast a lot of hard votes, as did the other Republicans and Democrats who joined our bipartisan effort. So did Senator Kennedy. I took my lumps for it without complaint. My campaign was written off as a lost cause. I did so not just because I believed it was the right thing to do for Hispanic Americans. It was the right thing to do for all Americans. Senator Obama declined to cast some of those tough votes. He voted for and even sponsored amendments that were intended to kill the legislation, amendments that Senator Kennedy and I voted against. I never ask for any special privileges from anyone just for having done the right thing. Doing my duty to my country is its own reward. But I do ask for your trust that when I say, I remain committed to fair, practical and comprehensive immigration reform, I mean it. I think I have earned that trust.
As The Brody File looks over McCain’s comments on immigration during the primary fight, it seems that while McCain has definitely shifted the emphasis of his remarks, he doesn’t appear guilty of any flip flop. McCain has always taken his lumps on immigration from many in his party and he even addressed it during his CPAC speech while the primary was still up for grabs. Read below:
On the issue of illegal immigration, a position which provoked the outspoken opposition of many conservatives, I stood my ground aware that my position would imperil my campaign. I respect your opposition for I know that the vast majority of critics to the bill based their opposition in a principled defense of the rule of law. And while I and other Republican supporters of the bill were genuine in our intention to restore control of our borders, we failed, for various and understandable reasons, to convince Americans that we were. I accept that, and have pledged that it would be among my highest priorities to secure our borders first, and only after we achieved widespread consensus that our borders are secure, would we address other aspects of the problem in a way that defends the rule of law and does not encourage another wave of illegal immigration.
Also, during the primary presidential debates, he didn’t back away from calling for comprehensive immigration reform. Instead he put the focus on securing the border. Watch more here:
What’s going on here is simply an astute political move. It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. (Therefore I have figured it out) Now that he is into the general election, tough talk of securing the border first is a quick line or two in a speech so as to play to the middle. In the primary, the emphasis was on the tough talk. But to say that McCain totally distanced himself from comprehensive immigration reform isn’t true. He defended his plan with the key disclaimer being that borders would have to be secured first. He’s saying the same thing to La Raza today only with less emphasis on the hard line approach.