DNC: McCain Holds Town Hall Meeting… In Private

John McCain held a town
hall meeting with Latinos in Chicago, Illinois last night, but unlike all
of his other town hall meetings, this one took place behind closed doors.
One hundred pre-screened Latinos were bused in to Chicago for the meeting,
but community leaders like Eluid Medina, who heads a neighborhood
networking group, were kept out according to a news report. Medina told
Diario Hoy that a conversation on the challenges Latinos face, "can't be
partisan, the problems affect us all as a community and the meeting should
have been open." [Diario Hoy, 6/19/08]

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/DNCLOGO )

McCain's closed-door town hall meeting with a pre-screened audience
comes as recent polls show John McCain has a problem with Latino voters. A
recent NBC/WSJ poll "showed Hispanics breaking for Obama 62%-28%" and "a
new survey of 800 Latino voters from 21 states finds that 60% of them plan
to vote for Obama versus 23% for McCain." [MSNBC First Read, 6/17/08]

Thus, even in a pre-screened audience, McCain could not avoid tough
questions. According to Hoy, Republican Precinct Committeeman Abraham
Romero, who was invited to attend, said he hoped to ask Senator McCain what
his plans are for undocumented immigrants. [Diario Hoy, 6/19/08] In recent
weeks McCain has tried to have it both ways on immigration reform,
declaring his belief in the need for comprehensive immigration reform to
court Latino voters, but often in the same sentence appeasing conservative
anti-immigrants by saying he'll pursue an enforcement-first approach, very
different from comprehensive reform. [nytimes.com, 5/22/08; Stockton
Record, 5/25/08]

"After countless public town hall meetings with a variety of voters,"
asked DNC spokesman Luis Miranda, "why is John McCain holding a town hall
meeting with Latinos late at night, behind closed doors, and only with a
pre-screened audience? Latinos and all Americans deserve real answers on
where John McCain really stands. He can't both support comprehensive reform
and enforcement-only, he can't promise change while offering a third Bush
term on everything from Iraq to the economy, and he can't expect Latino
voters to trust him while he'll only address their issues in private."

WHERE DOES MCCAIN REALLY STAND ON IMMIGRATION REFORM?

2006: McCain Championed The McCain-Kennedy Earned Legalization
Immigration Bill. McCain campaigned for the McCain-Kennedy bill which was
described as "the most generous of the bills now before Congress." The
legislation "would legalize as many as 11 million undocumented immigrants"
and "grant temporary work permits to illegal immigrants and then after
waiting six years and paying a $2,000 fine, it would enable them to apply
for green cards." [Miami Herald, 2/24/06]

2008: McCain Said He Would Oppose the Legislation He Authored With
Kennedy. Asked whether he would vote for the immigration legislation he
previously sponsored, McCain eventually replied, "No, I would not." [CNN
GOP Presidential Debate, 1/30/08]

2006: McCain Said an "Enforcement First" Strategy Focusing Only on
Border Security is an "Ineffective And Ill-Advised Approach." "In April
[2006], the Senate overwhelmingly passed, in a bipartisan fashion, a
comprehensive immigration reform package designed to secure our borders as
well as address the economic need for workers in our Nation. In passing
this legislation, the Senate rejected the argument for an 'enforcement
first' strategy that focuses on border security only, an ineffective and
ill-advised approach. Congress cannot take a piecemeal approach to a
national security crisis. I believe the only way to truly secure our border
and protect our Nation is through the enactment of comprehensive
immigration reform. As long as there is a need for workers in the United
States and people are willing to cross the desert to make a better life for
their families, our border will never be secure." [McCain, Congressional
Record, 9/29/06]

2007: Presidential Candidate McCain Touts Securing The Border First. In
2008, McCain said, "And our proposal has got to be securing the borders
first. The American people have no trust or confidence in us that we would
secure the borders." In November 2007, McCain argued, "I want to assure you
that I'll enforce the borders first." [CNN Larry King Live, 2/14/08;
CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate, 11/28/07]

2008: Trying to Have it Both Ways, McCain Calls For Comprehensive
Immigration Reform AND Enforcement First Approach. In California at "a
roundtable with business leaders" McCain said "that comprehensive
immigration reform should be a top priority for the next president."
[nytimes.com, 5/22/08] But McCain is also campaigning on an enforcement
first approach, very different from comprehensive reform. "I believe we
have to secure our borders, and that our border need to be secured first,"
McCain told an audience in Stockton, California. In that same speech he
claimed to "believe that we need a comprehensive approach... After the
borders are secured, and the border state governors -- including the
governor of this state -- certify that the borders are secure..." [Stockton
Record, 5/25/08]

WHERE DOES MCCAIN STAND ON THE DREAM ACT

2003 & 2005 & 2007: McCain Co-Sponsored The DREAM Act. McCain
co-sponsored versions of the DREAM Act in 2003, 2005, and early 2007. [S
1545, introduced 7/31/03; S 2075, introduced 11/21/05; S 774, introduced
3/6/07]

NOW in 2007: McCain Skipped Vote On DREAM Act But Said He Would Have
Voted Against Bill That He Co-Sponsored. "Last week, McCain skipped a
Senate vote on immigration legislation called the DREAM Act - Development
Relief and Education for Alien Minors. He then said he would have voted
against the bill, even though he was a co-sponsor." [Myrtle Beach Sun-News,
11/2/07]

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This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.

“*

• UCLA Students Lobby for DREAM Act
• William McKenzie: Why the Dream Act makes sense for illegal immigrants – and our country
• CAUSA: Students Around the Nation Call for Passage of DREAM Act
• Dreaming of a future – Chicago Dream Act rallies and a video
• National Council of La Raza Supports National Back to School DREAM Act Day of Action
• Thousands of Young People from California to New York Stage Events to Raise Awareness of DREAM Act
• Let undocumented youth reach their dreams – Illlinois commentary on the DREAM Act
• Republican Sen. John McCain says he’ll oppose Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor when the Senate votes on her confirmation this week.
• McCain should have listened to his own advice
• McCain states the obvious: GOP needs more hispanic support
• Sen. John McCain warned that unless Republicans make a strong effort to reach out to Hispanics, the party will continue to be left behind. The Arizona Republican also said that under certain conditions he would work with President Obama on immigration reform.
• Yesterday the OC Weekly’s Navel Gazing blog had yet another good post up about Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez’s hypocrisy in not co-sponsoring the DREAM Act
• IMMIGRANT YOUTH AND SUPPORTERS URGE CONGRESS TO APPROVE “DREAM ACT” AND REMOVE BARRIERS TO COLLEGE
• Dream Act Advocates Hold Graduation Ceremony on Capitol Hill
• The College Board, an association of 5,000 colleges and universities and the creator of the SAT, has publicly endorsed the “DREAM Act,” which would give undocumented students who graduate from high schools in this country and attend college or serve in the military a path toward legalization
• DREAM Act students create new site to foster support for their desire to be educated citizens
• McCain outreach chief sought Hispanic vote – Juan Hernandez
• McCain Lost Ground with Hispanics, Despite Immigration Stance
• Obama owes a debt to Democrats’ growing Hispanic base – If only white Americans had voted in this election, John McCain would be the next president
• María Conchita Alonso a favor de John McCain – La actriz expresa su miedo “ante el inminente peligro de apoyar cambios de tipo populista”