Thread: McCain, Top Dems Back Immigration Despite Wary Public

McCain, Top Dems Back Immigration Despite Wary Public
Sean Higgins
Fri May 16, 6:54 PM ET



John McCain made his stance on immigration pretty clear last year.

"I think the (border) fence is least effective," the Arizona senator told Vanity Fair. "But I'll build the goddamned fence if they want it."

In one gasp, McCain managed to sum up his own contradictory record on immigration and the frustration it inspires among many Republicans.

So the issue will likely dog McCain's presidential bid.

Democrats aren't crowing much, though. It's a hot potato for them too.

"I don't think there is going to be much debate about immigration in the presidential campaign," said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a pro-reform business coalition group.

"When they can avoid it, they will. And when they cannot, they'll straddle," Jacoby said. "Any tilting to one side will just get you in trouble with the other side."

Voters Angry

The candidates may have to face it. Voter anger over the government's fitful efforts to control immigration is rising. Also, the clout of Hispanic voters is growing.

A Los Angeles Times poll this month found that 11% of voters nationally had illegal immigration as their top issue, even with health care but below the economy (56%) and the Iraq War (34%).

All three candidates say the system is broken and promise to fix it. They've also called for ways to integrate existing illegal immigrants.

The differences occur at the margins. That could be a problem for McCain, since GOP voters tend toward restriction.

He faces potential competition from former GOP Congressman Bob Barr, should Barr win the Libertarian Party's presidential nod.

Barr said at a press conference last week, "If a person is illegally in this country, the taxpayers of this country and the government of this country owe them nothing."

Behind the policy arguments lies a stark partisan divide. Hispanics tend to vote 2-1 for Democrats.

In 2004, President Bush won 38% to 40% of the Hispanic vote, experts found. That was a high point 15r the GOP.

McCain could do well with Latinos, analysts say, especially if he faces Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. Obama hasn't won over many Hispanic voters in the primaries.

McCain, Obama In Sync

Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., have not pushed the issue but have supported some key liberal reforms. McCain has made it a priority.

"There is not much difference" between the candidates, said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, which favors strict limits on immigration.

McCain has sought to maintain the supply of immigrant labor brought into the U.S. and to enable those workers to "come out of the shadows" He has also promised to enforce border security.

To his critics, McCain's plan was amnesty. Last January he said those critics were "lying." Yet McCain used the word himself to describe his proposal in a May 2003 interview with the Tucson Citizen, his hometown paper.

In 2005 McCain co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., called the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act.

Their bill called for secured borders. It also created two visa programs for foreign workers, one for the low-skilled and a second for skilled "essential" workers.

The bill would have let immediate family members immigrate with the workers. It would have let existing illegal immigrants remain in the U.S. provided they pay a fine and prove residency. It also created a path for their eventual legalization.

That bill never came to a vote.

The next year, a bipartisan compromise announced with much fanfare followed the same principles. That passed the Senate in May 2006, but stalled in the House. Eventually Congress passed a border security bill, include more fencing.

McCain tried again in 2007 with a Democratic Congress. That reform would have created a Z visa letting existing illegal immigrants stay in the U.S. for eight years, after which they could apply for a green card.

Z visa holders would've had to pay a $2,000 fine and back taxes and apply from their home country. Spouses and children of Z visa holders would've been allowed to stay.

It also would have created a Y visa program for guest workers, letting in 400,000 annually. This was later halved by an amendment.

An employer database would have been created to track employee eligibility.

To increase border control, the bill would have added 20,000 agents and 370 miles of fencing.

The bill included the Dream Act, which would have granted citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants provided they went to college or joined the military.

The 2007 bill made even less headway than in 2006, going down to defeat in the Senate.

Since then, anti-immigration sentiment has grown among the public and especially conservatives.

McCain's immigration stance nearly killed his presidential hopes last year. But he survived as he downplayed the issue and touted the troop surge in Iraq.

Asked on NBC last January if, as president, he would still sign his immigration bill, McCain evaded the question.

"It's not going to come across my desk," McCain said. No progress could be made on the issue until voters were convinced the borders were secure, he explained.

The Democratic candidates have not made immigration a priority. Neither senator has introduced major legislation on it, though Obama sponsored bills to reduce immigration application fees and speed background checks for applicants.

Both have generally favored policies that expand the number of immigrants in the country.

Clinton and Obama promise on their campaign Web sites to support border security measures while arguing for creating a path to legalization.

Obama calls for "keeping immigrant families together" and backs a system to allow "undocumented immigrants" to have "the opportunity to become citizens."

Both support the Dream Act and promise to crack down on employers who hire illegals.

Clinton's evasive answers last year on a proposal by then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants provided an opening for Obama. Spitzer later dropped the plan.

NumbersUSA's Beck argues that while Obama is more in favor of immigration, McCain has shown a greater interest in pursuing reform.

"McCain is more likely to move on amnesty and more likely to succeed than Obama," Beck said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ibd/20080516/bs ... 516feature

Will not vote for any of the three.. I will not take part in the final death blow to America...

I am voting my heart this time ... my grand kids are depending on me

NumbersUSA's Beck argues that while Obama is more in favor of immigration, McCain has shown a greater interest in pursuing reform.

"McCain is more likely to move on amnesty and more likely to succeed than Obama," Beck said.

Here it is: another reason to not support McCain, and instead focus on Congress.

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Call the Senate: NO AgJobs Amnesty !

Democrats aren't crowing much, though. It's a hot potato for them too.
"I don't think there is going to be much debate about immigration in the presidential campaign," said Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a pro-reform business coalition group.

They don't have to debate it; they're shifty sneaks and blind and deaf to the public voice.

Barr said at a press conference last week, "If a person is illegally in this country, the taxpayers of this country and the government of this country owe them nothing."

Barr should raise a hue an cry on this issue; but step aside before the election. A third part candidate cannot win--but may be able to hold the others' feet to the fire.

McCain has sought to maintain the supply of immigrant labor brought into the U.S. and to enable those workers to "come out of the shadows" He has also promised to enforce border security.

To his critics, McCain's plan was amnesty. Last January he said those critics were "lying." Yet McCain used the word himself to describe his proposal in a May 2003 interview with the Tucson Citizen, his hometown paper.

I think the thing to do would be to press immediately for impeachment if he even dares to raise or support the issue of "Immigration Reform." Likewise for Obama. At least McCain is not so resolute as to ignore the criticism of his views on this issue. But he is shifty enough to apparently try to hide it. However, I think that would provide some leverage; i.e. Bring up C.I.R.=immediate calls for impeachment.