http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92545060 (listen to the story on NPR)
A convention attendee from Chicago, Juan Salgado, asked McCain if he intended to carry out his promised comprehensive immigration plans in a single piece of legislation.
McCain replied, “Yes, one single comprehensive bill, but first we have to assure the American people that the borders are secure. My friends, if you don't want to do that, then we don't pass the legislation.”
Afterward, Salgado, 39, said he was disappointed with the candidate's reply.
“I didn't get my answer,” said Salgado, executive director of the Instituto del Progreso Latino, a social-service organization in Chicago. “He's not going to give me my answer. He said one bill, but the enforcement has to come first, and that is not one bill.”
Salgado, whose organization provides education and employment training for immigrants and their families, said he is concerned about the way families are being separated by current enforcement policies.
“It's got to come together,” he said, referring to the components of McCain's promised immigration overhaul. “If it doesn't come together, it's going to be a mess.”
© 2009 Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights