Immigration Law

MCCAIN HISPANIC OUTREACH ADVISOR ANGERS ANTIS

By Greg Siskind

GOP presumptive presidential nominee John McCain has chosen a Latin outreach adviser with strongly pro-immigration leanings and this is drawing the ire of anti-immigration groups around the country. Juan Hernandez is a native Texan, but served as the first American citizen in the cabinet of a Mexican president.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the anti-immigration Center for Immigration Studies seems to be pretty riled up over this. He told the Austin American-Statesman:

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that advocates reduced immigration, says that Hernandez is "a flamboyant supporter of open borders."

"He rejects in principle the idea that we should have assimilation and we should have border enforcement," Krikorian said. "McCain has appointed a former foreign government official to do his outreach to American citizens."

Krikorian wrote a column on the subject last month for the conservative National Review online magazine. He said that choosing Hernandez proves that McCain is not serious about border enforcement.

McCain is now saying he's changed his mind on approaching immigration reform and wants an enforcement only approach and then will later consider dealing with the millions of unauthorized immigrants in the country. But one has to wonder whether McCain is trying to have it both ways, appearing to be in favor of a comprehensive immigration solution when he's addressing Hispanics and against it when he's courting nativists in his party.

Full post as published by Greg Siskind's Blog on February 18, 2008 (boomark / email).