Presidential Nominee John McCain and Illegal Immigration

He’s been known to get angry when pressed on his immigration platform. Here’s why. As we’ve noted in these pages, there is indeed much to admire about
Sen. John McCain, ranging from his courage as a POW to his
extraordinary leadership in pushing for the troop "surge" in Iraq. But
this has not been the case with his disingenuous blustering on illegal
immigration — particularly when his cosponsorship of mass-amnesty
legislation with Sen. Edward Kennedy is raised. The Arizona Republican
now says that, in the wake of last summer’s defeat of "comprehensive
immigration reform," he has "gotten the message" that the border must
be secured before the status of illegals already in the United States
can be dealt with.

That’s fair enough. But it doesn’t give Mr. McCain the right to shut
people up when they ask legitimate questions about his immigration
record — which includes cosponsoring legislation to permit illegal
aliens to pay lower in-state tuition rates denied to some students that
are in the country legally, supporting Social Security benefits for
illegals and voting against an amendment last year that would have
permanently barred gang members, terrorists and other criminals from
the United States. <img src=”http://www.uncorrelated.com/mccain-immigrationx.jpg" /> In a Jan. 5 debate, Mr. McCain declared that anyone who says he
supported amnesty is "a liar, is lying." Several days before he won the
New Hampshire primary, Mr. McCain was asked by a voter about criticism
of his record. The senator replied: "I do not support, nor would I ever
support, any services provided to someone who came to this country
illegally, nor would I ever and never have supported Social
Security benefits for people who are in this country illegally." Any
assertion to the contrary, he added "is absolutely false."

To be certain, there are some bright spots to Mr. McCain’s
immigration record. Last year, for example, he voted to permit the
sharing of information contained in amnesty applications if requested
by a law enforcement or intelligence agency and voted to make it more
difficult for illegals to benefit from sanctuary-city policies. But
time and again, he has sided with the pro-amnesty, open-borders crowd.
Following is a partial listing of some of Mr. McCain’s troubling
actions on illegal immigration:



Supporting mass amnesty. The May 29, 2003, Tucson Citizen quoted
Mr. McCain as stating that "Amnesty has to be an important part of" any
immigration solution. He was part of the bipartisan coalition that
tried to pass amnesty legislation in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 he voted in
favor of S. 2611, legislation that would reward between 10 and 11
million illegals with amnesty if they apply for legal status and pay a
$2,000 fine.



Supporting in-state tuition for illegal aliens. Mr. McCain was a
cosponsor of S. 774, the Dream Act, providing in-state tuition for
illegal aliens. The legislation would have enabled illegal aliens who
entered the United States before age 16 to obtain a green card and then
use their newly acquired status to obtain green cards for the millions
of parents who illegally brought their children with them into the
United States. Mr. McCain missed a Senate vote on the issue in October.
He said that he would have opposed it on the Senate floor had he been
there to vote. 



Voted to kill border fence. In 2006, Mr. McCain voted for an
amendment to S. 2611 offered by Sen. Arlen Specter to require
consultation with the Mexican government concerning the construction of
fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border. According to Numbers USA, an
organization that lobbies against illegal immigration, this amendment
would have effectively guaranteed that the border fence was never
built. 



Voted against permanently barring gang members and terrorists from the United States.
Last year, Mr. McCain voted against an amendment (Senate Amendment
1184) introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, that would have
permanently barred gang members, terrorists, sex offenders, alien
absconders, aliens convicted of domestic violence and aliens convicted
of at least three DUIs from the United States. The Cornyn Amendment was
rejected on a 51-46 vote.



Voted in favor of Social Security benefits to illegal aliens who commit identity fraud.
In 2006. Mr. McCain joined with Mr. Kennedy in working to defeat an
amendment by Sen. John Ensign, Nevada Republican, that would have
barred Social Security credits for work being done prior to their
receiving amnesty — in other words, while working under a false Social
Security number. The Ensign Amendment, (Senate Amendment 3985) was
defeated on a 50-49 vote. <a href=”http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/14/sen-mccain-and-illegal-immigration/”>Source</a> 

2008-09-17