I will repeat what I said.
The question was asked why McCain was referencing a Hispanic who fought in Vietnam. The answer had nothing to do with amnesty the answer had to do with the fact that he was talking to a group of Hispanic veterans. I never said anything about citizenship. You people thought you had tasted blood in water when you saw the reference to a Hispanic soldier and you wanted to post Juan Hernandez’s pictures up without realizing to whom McCain spoke.
Franco stated, "Just catering to the Mexicans and setting the stage for amnesty when he takes office. He’s been saying this a lot, in more speeches than just this one.
"When McCain is in the White House, he’ll say something like this: “Hispanics are good citizens. Many have fought and died for America. How can we deny them all the benefits of citizenship?”
If you read the entire speech [and yes I know it was before an Hispanic vererans group], you will see much of the same exact words that McCain used before NAELO and La Raza. For excample:
Let me close by expressing my gratitude for the contributions Hispanic-Americans have made to the security of the country I have served all my adult life. I represent Arizona where Spanish was spoken before English was, and where the character and prosperity of our state owes much to the Arizonans of Hispanic descent who live there. And I know this country, which I love more than almost anything, would be poorer were we deprived of the patriotism, industry and decency of those millions of Americans whose families came here from Mexico, Central and South America.
When you take the solemn stroll along that wall of black granite on the national Mall, it is hard not to notice the many names such as Rodriguez, Hernandez, and Lopez that so sadly adorn it. When you visit Iraq and Afghanistan you meet some of the thousands of Hispanic-Americans who serve there, and many of those who risk their lives to protect the rest of us do not yet possess the rights and privileges of full citizenship in the country they love so well.
Who is trying to "deprive" this country of Hispanics from Latin America? Today, more than 60% of the 1.2 million LEGAL immigrants who enter annually come from Latin America. The Hispanic population of this country is about 40 million.
Those Hispanics who are in the military must be here legally. As stated previously, there is a program to expedite citizenship if you serve in the military. McCain makes it sound like these LPRs are being discriminated against. That is clearly not the case.
The so called "Dream Act," has as one of its provisions the ability for illegals to join the military as a way to gain citizenship. The Dream Act was also part of McCain-Kennedy.
McCain is using the heroic performance of Roy Benavidez, a native born Mexican-American, as a way to pander to Hispanic audiences blurring the lines between legal and illegal. Roy Benavidez was the son of a Texas sharecropper, a seventh grade dropout who suffered the humiliation of being constantly taunted as a "dumb Mexican." Taunted by whom? Redneck Republicans?