McCain hits Obama on immigration

John McCain reached out today to Hispanic voters, telling them that he is an ally on immigration reform -- and hitting Democratic rival Barack Obama for allegedly ducking the issue.

Obama and other Democrats have accused McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, of changing his position on comprehensive reform by calling during the GOP primaries for securing the borders before trying again to pass proposals including a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants.

McCain directly addressed the issue before the National Council of La Raza conference in San Diego.

"At a moment of great difficulty in my campaign, when my critics said it would be political suicide for me to do so, I helped author with Senator [Edward M.] Kennedy comprehensive immigration reform, and fought for its passage," he said, according to prepared remarks released by his campaign. "I cast a lot of hard votes, as did the other Republicans and Democrats who joined our bipartisan effort. So did Senator Kennedy. I took my lumps for it without complaint. My campaign was written off as a lost cause. I did so not just because I believed it was the right thing to do for Hispanic Americans. It was the right thing to do for all Americans.

"Senator Obama declined to cast some of those tough votes," McCain continued. "He voted for and even sponsored amendments that were intended to kill the legislation, amendments that Senator Kennedy and I voted against. I never ask for any special privileges from anyone just for having done the right thing. Doing my duty to my country is its own reward. But I do ask for your trust that when I say, I remain committed to fair, practical and comprehensive immigration reform, I mean it. I think I have earned that trust."

But the Democratic National Committee today quickly accused McCain of double-talk on immigration, saying it is "proof he will say anything to get elected."

As evidence, it cited a campaign conference call Sunday during which one of McCain's advisers touted border security measures in a bill McCain is co-sponsoring with Senator Lindsey Graham that also calls for making undocumented status a criminal misdemeanor.

UPDATE: Democrats also organized a conference call with Congressman Xavier Becerra of California, who said McCain was distorting the record on the immigration issue.

"John McCain can try to rewrite history, but he can't change the fact that he walked away from his own comprehensive immigration reform bill to appease the right wing of his party or the fact that he praised Senator Obama for his leadership on the issues. If John McCain expects Latino voters to trust him in the White House, he should respect them enough to honestly defend his own record and stop launching misleading and false attacks on Senator Obama's.”

Obama also vows to push comprehensive reform if elected president.

The council, meanwhile, is calling on both McCain and Obama to help rein in what it called "offensive and charged rhetoric on immigration" in congressional campaigns by both parties' candidates.

"Senators McCain and Obama have both been leaders in the immigration reform effort and have urged a thoughtful and well-informed debate on this difficult issue,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "But others in their respective political parties are using inaccurate and inflammatory language to inspire fear and resentment against immigrants for the sake of advancing their political campaigns."

McCain also addressed the faltering economy, highlighting his platform for immediate and longer-term relief, and promising not to raise taxes that would hurt businesses.

"There are two million Latino owned businesses in America, many of them started by Latinas," he said. "The first consideration we should have when debating tax policy is how we can help those companies grow and increase the prosperity of the millions of American families whose economic security depends on their success."

Obama, in his speech to the same group on Sunday, emphasized his proposals on healthcare, jobs, and education, arguing they were crucial to Latinos. He also declared that the "Latino community holds this election in its hands."