No one has ever doubted that McCain was sincere in his open-borders agenda. His genuine dedication to rewarding foreign lawbreakers with amnesty was demonstrated by his patient work to create comprehensive legislation with his pal Ted Kennedy. He employed open-borders extremist Juan Hernandez as director of Hispanic outreach for his Presidential campaign. One can only assume that the legal/illegal distinction is not a biggie to the Senator.
Nowadays however, Senator McCain is facing a tough primary election against a real pro-borders conservative, JD Hayworth, who has been steadily gaining (April 15 Rasmussen poll: McCain 47%, Hayworth 42%). McCain is scrambling for relevance, and is hoping the Arizona voters will have amnesty amnesia. Fortunately, border supporters now have YouTube to refresh voters’ memories, for example his 2008 speech to the La Raza convention:
True, Sen McCain has long supported securing the border, but only as a precursor to comprehensive amnesty. As he remarked in the speech filmed above, the government lost the people’s trust when it gave amnesty to millions in 1986 while leaving the border wide open. So the tough-sounding border rhetoric is merely a political device.
On April 19, he released a 10-point blueprint for border protection at a press conference with Senator Kyl and Arizona Sheriffs Larry Dever and Paul Babeu:
McCain, Kyl Announce Border Security PlanThe good news about the presser (beyond the crass political theater) was the opportunity for actual law enforcement personnel to talk about the growing lawlessness and danger to officers and the public. Sheriff Paul Babeu of Pinal County was later interviewed on MSNBC about the situation on the Arizona border, and he remarked at the outset that the violence committed by illegal alien smugglers is ”the number one public safety issue in all of Arizona”:1. Immediately deploy 3,000 National Guard Troops along the Arizona/Mexico border, along with appropriate surveillance platforms, which shall remain in place until the Governor of Arizona certifies, after consulting with state, local and tribal law enforcement, that the Federal Government has achieved operational control of the border. Permanently add 3,000 Custom and Border Protection Agents to the Arizona/Mexico border by 2015.
2. Fully fund and support Operation Streamline in Arizona’s two Border Patrol Sectors to, at a minimum, ensure that repeat illegal border crossers go to jail for 15 to 60 days. Where Operation Streamline has been implemented, the number of illegal crossings has decreased significantly. Require the Obama Administration to complete a required report detailing the justice and enforcement resources needed to fully fund this program. Fully reimburse localities for any related detention costs.
3. Provide $100M, an increase of $40M, for Operation Stonegarden, a program that provides grants and reimbursement to Arizona’s border law enforcement for additional personnel, overtime, travel and other related costs related to illegal immigration and drug smuggling along the border.
4. Offer Hardship Duty Pay to Border Patrol Agents assigned to rural, high-trafficked areas, such as the CBP Willcox and Douglas Stations in the Tucson Sector.
5. Complete the 700 miles of fencing along the border with Mexico and construct double- and triple- layer fencing at appropriate locations along the Arizona-Mexico border. […]
N.b: the above clip was posted on Senator McCain’s YouTube channel, because now he is the defender of public safety. For Americans!
