Immigration

John McCain, speaking before the League of United Latin American Citizens in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, pointed to his support for comprehensive immigration reform, a position he downplayed during the Republican presidential primaries.

"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," McCain said according to prepared remarks.

McCain, who championed comprehensive reform in the Senate, stressed his support for securing U.S. borders to stem illegal immigration during his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in 2007 and earlier this year. But on Tuesday, he suggested that securing the borders is just one step.

"Many Americans, with good cause, did not believe us when we said we would secure our borders, and so we failed in our efforts," he said. "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."

McCain, whose campaign released a television ad Tuesday highlighting his military service, also referenced in his speech his ties to his Hispanic-American constituents in Arizona and a Hispanic-American serviceman he was imprisoned with in Vietnam.

"When I was in prison in Vietnam, I like other of my fellow POWs, was offered early release by my captors," McCain said. "Most of us refused because we were bound to our code of conduct, which said those who had been captured the earliest had to be released the soonest. My friend, Everett Alvarez, a brave American of Mexican descent, had been shot down years before I was, and had suffered for his country much more and much longer than I had. To leave him behind would have shamed us."

UPDATE: The Corner's Byron York notes that McCain threw a bone to conservative activists in his speech Tuesday. McCain said that he would "secure our borders first," after leaving out the word "first" in a recent speech. Opponents of comprehensive immigration reform have called for a "secure-the-borders" approach to immigration before trying other reforms.

A new Rasmussen poll shows Barack Obama closing the gap among John McCain's Arizona constituents.

McCain still enjoys a 49 to 40 percent lead over Obama in Arizona, but in April McCain led Obama by 20 percent.

McCain has a significant lead in favorably, with 60 percent of voters in McCain's home state view him favorably, 47 percent say the same about Obama. The polling firm still ranks McCain as a heavy favorite in Arizona.

McCain polling below 50 percent may reflect weakness in his home state, but unless Obama is able to raise his favorability among Arizonans, McCain will be a heavy favorite. In addition to showing Obama cutting into McCain's lead, the poll also shows McCain's favorability has stabilized around 60 percent after bottoming out at 47 percent a year ago when a McCain-led comprehensive immigration deal fell apart in the Senate.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) won the state's February 5th Democratic primary,

A new web ad released by the John McCain campaign Monday uses Memorial Day to remind voters that many Hispanic immigrants have fought for their country.

"Remember that these are God's children," McCain says.

"They must come into the country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation as every generation of immigrants before them."

Here is the transcript:

McCain: My friends, I want you, the next time you're down in Washington, D.C., to go to the Vietnam War Memorial and look at the names engraved in black granite. You'll find a whole lot of Hispanic names.

When you go to Iraq or Afghanistan today, you're going to see a whole lot of people who are of Hispanic background.

You're even going to meet some of the few thousand that are still green card holders who are not even citizens of this country, who love this country so much that they're willing to risk their lives in its service in order to accelerate their path to citizenship and enjoy the bountiful, blessed nation.

So let's, from time to time, remember that these are God's children. They must come into country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation as every generation of immigrants before them.

Thank you.

I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

John McCain today said he would withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of his first term as president.

Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, McCain laid out an agenda for accomplishments by the end of his first term. Also among them were: the Taliban's resurgence reduced with Pakistan's help; discontinuation of nuclear programs in Russia, China, and North Korea;

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean today called on John McCain to denounce a statement Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) made yesterday opposing the Pope's stance on Latin American immigration to the U.S.

"If John McCain is serious in his pledge to run a respectful campaign, he should immediately denounce Tom Tancredo's insulting remarks about Pope Benedict XVI," Dean said today in a release that referred to Tancredo as a surrogate for McCain.

Tancredo, whose presidential platform centered on hard-line immigration policies, has been reported as blasting McCain, who has pushed for legislation in the Senate that would offer a path to citizenship to the millions of illegal immigrants living in the country.

Tancredo said yesterday, in a press release from his congressional office, Read more...

Josh Marshall looks at the latest poll numbers in the Democratic nomination fight. A New York Times survey has good news for Barack Obama, seen as the stronger general election candidate than Hillary Clinton and as a candidate who "shares the values of Americans," Marshall writes. He also links to a new poll on the Indiana primary showing Clinton ahead by three points. Clinton's campaign might have wanted to keep its chief strategist, Mark Penn, from moonlighting as the head of a communications firm, Marshall writes. In his other job, Penn has been talking to Colombia's ambassador about the pending U.S. free trade pact that his candidate opposes.