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McCain: Immigration Bill Protects Against Terror
Republican presidential candidate John McCain on Wednesday defended the immigration legislation winding its way through Congress, saying the measure is needed to protect the country from terrorism. "People who grew up in London, people who have spent most of their lives in the United States, have somehow become induced to be terrorists and that argues strongly for accounting for and bringing under control a situation where 12 million people are in our country illegally," the Arizona senator said during one of several conference calls with reporters from early voting states where he is vying for support. The immigration bill calls for tightening border security, granting legal status to nearly all the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, and increasing penalties for employers who hire illegal workers. It would create a point system for future immigration applicants that would place less emphasis on family connections and more on education and skills in demand by U.S. businesses.
Story Continues Below McCain has been defending the immigration bill in the face of criticism from several GOP presidential contenders who have said the measure is ineffective and a form of amnesty for illegal immigrants. On Wednesday, he downplayed the political stake he has in the measure. "If it fails, then frankly what it has to say about me is far less important than the fact we'll have the status quo and 12 million people somewhere in America without us knowing who they are and what they're doing," McCain said. He said he expects the Senate to pass the bill during the next couple of weeks. "There is not an unlimited amount of time that we have to act on this because if we let time go on past this summer, I'm afraid that it may be 2009 before we take up this issue seriously again," he said. "If we fail, I'll deeply regret it. But I'm guardedly optimistic we will succeed."
Earlier this week, McCain knocked former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's opposition to the legislation, saying his solution to illegal immigration might be "to get out his small varmint gun and drive those Guatemalans off his lawn." A landscaping company handling work at Romney's home reported had at illegal immigrants on the payroll. "Eleven months ago basically he supported the same principles that are in this legislation," McCain said of Romney on Wednesday. And during negotiations drafting the immigration bill, McCain had an outburst with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. "My exchange with Senator Cornyn was behind closed doors during negotiations and I apologized for it and we moved on," McCain said Wednesday.
© 2007 Associated Press.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
2008 Presidential Race Inside Cover Stories
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