McCain courts Hispanic voters

By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times
May 6, 2008

Sen. John McCain said yesterday that Republicans have shed support among Hispanic voters because of the party’s get-tough approach to illegal immigration, but he predicted that his enforcement-then- legalization approach will rebuild those bridges.

Using a Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo, as a launching point, Mr. McCain’s presidential campaign announced a Spanish-language Web site (www.johnmccain.com/ espanol), and said the senator from Arizona will speak to this year’s National Council of La Raza convention in San Diego in July to try to court Hispanic voters.

“I believe the majority of the Hispanics share our view that the border must be secured, and the border must be secured first. But they also want us to have an attitude, which I think most Americans do, that these are God’s children, and they must be taken care of, and the issue must be addressed in a humane and compassionate fashion,” Mr. McCain told reporters at an Arizona news conference yesterday.

Hispanic support for President Bush in the 2004 election topped 40 percent by most estimates, but has fallen in the wake of the congressional immigration debate.

Now, nearly a year after the Senate rejected the immigration legalization bill supported by Mr. McCain, Mr. Bush and Democratic leaders, the issue is rising again, but a viable solution seems no closer.

House Democrats want a compromise that would allow more foreign workers for farms, high-tech firms and seasonal businesses, but the Congressional Hispanic Caucus has said it will oppose such a bill unless it also allows for some form of legal status for current illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, a vocal group of conservative Democrats and Republicans is demanding an enforcement-only approach.

Today, the House will hold a hearing on an enforcement bill that would require employers to check a government database known as the E-Verify system before they hire. That bill is sponsored by Rep. Heath Shuler, a North Carolina Democrat who has broken with his party’s general stance on immigration, and is backed by House Republicans who are running a petition drive to try to force a floor vote on the measure.
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