EDITORIAL: McCain and Obama: alien twins

In their June 28 speeches to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), John McCain and Barack Obama seemed to be competing to see who could do a better job of pandering to open-borders advocacy groups. Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama demonstrated that for voters who say that respecting the rule of law and securing the border should be top priorities, there is no candidate with a serious chance to win the White House in 2008.

In his speech, Mr. Obama reiterated his support for “a comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws” (i.e., mass amnesty) and attacked Mr. McCain for avoiding the issue during the primaries. Mr. McCain called for creation of a “temporary” worker program; declared that “comprehensive immigration reform” will “be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow”; and called for a way to turn illegal aliens into citizens of the United States.

In the wake of his NALEO speech, Mr. McCain has been in political free-fall on illegal immigration. Democrats who support mass amnesty point out that in the primaries Mr. McCain moved as far away as he possibly could from his previous support for open borders - in particular his leadership role in 2006 and 2007 for Senate passage of amnesty legislation. For example, Rep. Joe Baca, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, blasted Mr. McCain for abandoning comprehensive reform and reversing his previous support for the Dream Act, which would provide reduced-cost in-state tuition for illegal aliens. In response, the McCain campaign attacked Mr. Obama for proposing “poison pill amendments” that would undo the efforts of Mr. McCain and Sen. Edward Kennedy to pass a “bipartisan” immigration bill.

In fact, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain have generally been on the same side when it comes to illegal immigration. In 2006, both men voted for an amendment by Sen. Arlen Specter that would have required consultation with the Mexican government about the construction of fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border. That same year, they both opposed an amendment by Sen. John Ensign barring illegal aliens from receiving Social Security credit for work done under a false Social Security number. Last year, both voted against an amendment introduced by Sen. John Cornyn that would have permanently barred gang members, terrorists, sex offenders and aliens convicted of at least three DUIs from the United States. In October, when he was attempting to revive his faltering campaign, Mr. McCain moved to distance himself from supporting the Dream Act. And judging from his NALEO address, Mr. McCain may be about to reverse himself again.

The unhappy reality is that on the issue of illegal immigration, you can barely tell John McCain and Barack Obama apart.