Washington Times Calls Out McCain For Lying About Support For 1986 Immigration Legislation
As ThinkProgress noted on Saturday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) made inconsistent immigration pledges in a speech to the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, claiming he would both “secure our borders first” and make comprehensive reform his “top priority”:
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– [W]e can and will secure our borders first, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States
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– Q: Will comprehensive immigration reform - and not just enforcement - be one of your top policy priorities in your first 100 days in office?
nMcCAIN: It’ll be my top priority yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
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But that wasn’t the only false claim McCain made that day. Yesterday, the Washington Times noted that McCain also claimed he supported the 1986 Immigration Reform Act, legislation long lambasted by conservatives as an “amnesty” bill:
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[I]n 1986, we passed a law and stated we would secure the borders and gave amnesty to a couple — three million people. I supported that legislation way back then.
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Watch it:
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In fact, McCain voted against this legislation. As the Times explained, McCain was a vocal opponent of this bill:
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The Arizona Republic newspaper in 1986 reported that he’d called the bill racist and quoted him as saying the bill’s stipulations for employers to verify workers “would institutionalize discrimination.” He said employers would refuse to hire Hispanics to avoid running afoul of the law.
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A McCain campaign official stated the senator “was referring to his support for a comprehensive solution - going back to that time. He did oppose some provisions and didn’t end up voting for the bill.” As Time Magazine notes this day, McCain’s shifting immigration stance, which it calls “confusion,” has been “somewhat intentional on the part of the McCain campaign” in order to woo conservatives and moderates.