In remarks to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) vowed to fight for amnesty as long as he is a breathing United States Senator.
McCain, according to BuzzFeed, also said that if comprehensive immigration reform passes, he would “make sure it is forever called the Edward M. Kennedy immigration bill.” McCain and the late Kennedy tried to pass the McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill last decade, along with President George W. Bush. Conservatives halted the measure because it would have reduced the wages of American workers while not solving the illegal immigration problem.
The high-tech lobby, the Chamber of Commerce, and the same groups that wanted amnesty then are redoubling their efforts this year, which amnesty advocates like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) have said may be the last chance for such legislation.
McCain’s former immigration aide, Becky Tallent, is now House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) top aide on immigration. Boehner has said that he and President Barack Obama want to get immigration reform legislation “done” this year.
Other speakers throughout the week at Hispanic Chamber of Commerce events included Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), who said that amnesty legislation was inevitable, and Vice President Joe Biden, who stated that he believed illegal immigrants were “already American citizens.”
Last year, McCain vowed that amnesty advocates would try to get comprehensive immigration reform through Congress after the GOP primaries in 2014. That window seems to be somewhere in the next three months. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that if amnesty legislation passes this year, it would pass by June.
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