McCain back-pedals on immigration reform
April 26, 2010
By Amy Invernizzi

Republican Senator John McCain has officially made immigration policy a secondary issue, stating on April 19 that border control is now his primary concern and voicing his support of controversial Senate Bill 1070.

This comes in stark contrast to his prior political standpoint on immigration. McCain has long been an advocate of instating a comprehensive immigration reform that would pave the way towards citizenship for many illegal immigrants in the United States.

Senate Bill 1070 is a bill that would make it a state crime in Arizona to be in the country illegally and require local police to enforce federal immigration laws. Among other things, it would give Arizona authorities the right to demand immigration papers from anyone if there is reasonable suspicion that they are illegal aliens. In essence, the bill would make it a crime to be in the United States illegally.

McCain’s previous support of immigration reform has frequently been cited as one of the downfalls of his failed presidential campaign, as he denounced the anti-immigration feelings within his own party and faced a great deal of opposition from conservatives on the issue.

Despite this, he remained firm over the years in attempting to provide more immigration opportunities to non-citizens. He had long promoted the immigration legislation that would eventually grant citizenship to as many as 20 million illegal aliens in the United States.

During his 2000 bid for the presidency, McCain was a strong supporter of the H1-B bill, which provided temporary work visas for skilled non-citizen workers.

“I was a strong supporter of the H1-B expansion last year, but it's not enough,â€