Immigration

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- On a day that saw Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama sparring over immigration, an umbrella group representing some of the nation's most prominent and influential Hispanic business and community leaders has stepped in to set the record straight.

"It's time to turn down the rhetoric and the highly-charged television commercials, and get down to the real facts," said Jose Nino, Co-Chairman of the Hispanic Alliance for Prosperity Institute. "Voters deserve to know the truth on the critical issue of immigration reform, and let the chips fall where they may."

"While Senators John McCain and Barack Obama both have expressed their support for the doomed bipartisan immigration reform compromise that Congress rejected this Session, only one candidate remained true to his commitment -- John McCain.

"Virtually every Hispanic organization from the League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC) to the National Council of La Raza has recognized that Sen. John McCain risked his entire political career by defying much of his Party and supporting comprehensive immigration reform, including a Guest Worker Visa program.

"Barack Obama, despite his promises of support, was absent from much of the debate on the compromise, then turned his back on the proposal, siding instead with organized labor on a series of 'poison pill' amendments that even his supporter, Sen. Edward Kennedy, opposed. Among the proposals Obama supported were amendments that would have cut the number of Guest Worker Visas in half, and would ultimately have killed the program after just five years.

"In the heat of the campaign, overheated rhetoric and campaign promises should never eclipse the truth -- and when it comes to comprehensive immigration reform, the truth is that Sen. McCain has shown courage and leadership, while Sen. Obama, despite his promises, ultimately sided with those who oppose comprehensive reform."