Latino leaders hear Senate Democrat blast John McCain on immigration

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The Senate Democratic leader, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, blasted President Bush and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday for failing to get immigration reform through Congress in 2007. Reid was speaking at the annual conference of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

The 6,000-member organization is holding its four-day conference in Washington, D.C., and has drawn major political speakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), McCain, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

The Latino community’s political and policy leaders are discussing issues such as education, the growing economic crisis and the emerging clout of Latino voters in U.S. politics — one reason, no doubt, why so many political heavy hitters came to pay their respects.

Reid used his address to target McCain on immigration. ‘Unfortunately, despite President Bush and Sen. McCain’s proclamations of support, neither one showed the leadership or expended the political capital necessary to actually get [2007 immigration reform] done,’ Reid said. ‘Sen. McCain has gone so far as to announce in the Republican debates that he would vote against his own bill. His new position on immigration is so divisive and wrongheaded that it has won him the endorsement of Tom Tancredo.’

— Nicole Gaouette in Washington