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John McCain's Five Points On Immigration Reform

Paresh Dave |
April 30, 2013 | 12:24 p.m. PDT

Executive Director

Despite drawing pushback from conservatives in recent days, Sen. John McCain said he remains optimistic that Congress will approve a landmark immigration bill this summer. Speaking at the USC Schwarzenegger Institute Forum on Immigration Reform on Tuesday, he pointed to the coalition of labor unions, businesses, religious organization and ethnic groups that would be active in lobbying for the bill as a sign of promise. Here's five points MCain made.

1. Selling comprehensive immigration to other Republican lawmakers is as easy as showing them the numbers, McCain said. The Republican Party can't compete with the Democratic Party until it gains broad support in the Latino community, which overwhelmingly supports immigration reform.

2. With drones and sensors and the E-Verify system, the border can get to the point of being 90 percent secure.

"We'll never totally secure the border when the lure of jobs exist here that don't exist elsewhere," McCain said. "But at the same time, we have to let workers into our country or we'll be short of workers.

3. McCain said America's demand for drugs helps fuel many of the illegal border crossings into America. He said little will change until America has a national conversation about illegal drugs.

4. National security concerns can be allayed, and the Boston bombings should not be used as an excuse to derail the bill.

5. McCain said President Barack Obama will do whatever it takes, including making compromises, to get immigration reform passed in Congress because the president needs to establish a second-term legacy.

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