http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/25/mccain-reverses-course-on-immigration-reform-again-drawing-far-right-rebuke/#more-29509

When focusing on the upcoming election, alot of Americans tend to overlook the pressing issue of immigration reform, a touchy subject that has implications for, both, our internal security and international standing. To give a brief synopsis on the above article, Steve Benen focuses his argument on McCain's stance on immigration reform, and how the Republican Senator has flip-flopped on the issue a number of times, at first pushing for comprehensive immigration reform and then shying away from it, coincidentally enough around the time after he received the Republican nomination. This is a prime example of how indecisive McCain can be, and how he, like so many other politicians, will attempt to please whatever audience for the sake of attaining and consolidating power, even at the cost of his integrity. Just the fact that he would flip-flop on, arguably, one of the most important issues of our time showcases his weakness as a leader, and puts into question whether we as the people can ever fully trust him. If you're going to have a stance, stick to that stance with your head held high, regardless of whatever adversity you'll face.
After reading the article, I realized how little I actually know of McCain's stance on immigration reform, so I decided to look into it a bit. From what I've read, straight from John McCain's website, he plans to finish "securing" the border through physical and virtual, protect the rights of American workers, and, overall, just seems to plan to implement and enforce what we already have in place. The citizenship process will be just as difficult, time-consuming, and costly for immigrants coming here who, in all reality, have dismal amounts of time and money when they get here. American workers will get top priority and immigrants will be forced to learn English, pass a citizenship course, and pay back any taxes they've passed on. The wall on the Mexican-American border will most likely continue to be constructed. To me, this all seems like it's the same old song and dance. McCain just seems to be reinforcing what Bush has already started in regards to immigration reform. These plans just prove to be unnecessarily costly in so many regards. The wall being built on the border is costing millions in federal spending and the position it puts American in as an international power will prove to be even more catastrophic. The physical prescence of there being a division between us and the rest of our North America neighbors demonstrates to the rest of the world our selfishness, how we are willing to sacrifice international unity with our own neighbors for the sake "national security". What's more telling is how we place so much emphasis on national security and how it pertains to immigration reform, as if the two go hand-in-hand. Immigrants are stigmatized to the furthest degree in society as a group of individuals who will do nothing, but the jobs nobody wants to do and who will contribute only crime to this land. While many politicians will argue against that view, that they do value the immigrants who come here, the fact of the matter is that the immigrant populace hardly ever harbors any real respect and dignity in America, something seriously flawed with the system.
So what are a people supposed to do with no firm foundation to work off of? What are they supposed to do without any actually respect, time, or money once they're here? They try to make ends meet with the cards they are dealt. I come from a family of immigrants as I'm sure alot of you do as well. And for as far as I've known every immigrant who I've known has tried their hardest to work to make the future brighter for those who will follow in their paths. The immigrants who come here are some of the most genuine, good-hearted, hard-working human beings, only trying to attain the type of peace and prosperity scarcely found in their homelands. The least this country can do is make the citizenship process that much easier, something I'm hoping will be addressed and actually happen in the upcoming election.