John McCain: Not Granting Amnesty 'A Stain on America's Honor'

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who co-wrote the Senate’s amnesty legislation and has been trying for more than a decade to pass comprehensive immigration reform, believes not granting amnesty to all of the country’s illegal immigrants is a “stain on America’s honor.” 

Speaking at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics on Wednesday, McCain said the country currently has “de facto amnesty” because there are “not enough buses” to deport all of the country’s illegal immigrants.  

“Why don’t we give them a path to citizenship?” McCain asked before insisting that such a path is “no amnesty.” 

“If you keep these people in the shadows in this nation … it’s a stain on America’s honor,” McCain declared. 

He also said he thinks Congress can still pass immigration reform. Furthermore, he assured the audience that the amnesty bill would be named the “Edward M. Kennedy Immigration Reform Bill” in honor of his late partner on the comprehensive immigration reform effort, which President George W. Bush also supported. That effort failed last decade.