Immigration reform gives some in the conservative base heart palpitations. But if the Republican primary showed anything, it was that opposition to comprehensive immigration reform is not a winner at the ballot box. (John McCain’s support for immigration reform may have made the difference in Florida where he carried the Hispanic vote.)
McCain at LULAC on Tuesday set out the same formula he did in the primary: he will pursue border security first, establish the government’s credibility to control the flow of illegal immigration and then work on a compromise for those who are here. He explained:
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 necessity 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, with good cause, did not believe us when we said we would secure our borders, and so we failed in our efforts. We must prove to them that we can and will secure our borders first, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States. But we must not make the mistake of thinking that our responsibility to meet this challenge will end with that accomplishment. We have economic and humanitarian responsibilities as well, and they require no less dedication from us in meeting them.
That is a formulation which does not please many on the Right, but it has the benefit of making political sense, not offending a growing segment of the electorate, and potentially achieving more on the border security front than immigration opponents have gotten so far.
And if conservatives irked with McCain think they will fare just as well on this issue with Barack Obama, they should review some of Obama’s debate comments. He’s not thrilled with building a fence and he’s not inclined to deny any benefits, including drivers’ licenses, to illegal immigrants.
After surviving a near-political death experience over the issue in the primary, McCain is clearly trying to play up his credentials as a bipartisan leader who (unlike his essentially AWOL opponent who did the bidding of Big Labor) at least tried to solve a knotty issue. But then again, the Republican primary showed that for all the heat it generates, immigration reform is not a make or break issue for most voters. (And that may explain why a relatively small part of his LULAC speech was devoted to immigration.)
