McCain has promoted the legislation and eventually the granting of citizenship to the estimated 12–20 million illegal aliens in the United States and the creation of an additional guest worker program with an option for permanent immigration. His prominent role in promoting the Senate's 2006 immigration legislation, including an initial cosponsorhip role with Ted Kennedy, made him a focus of the debate in 2006, and his support for S.1348 did so again in 2007. The immigration issue caused intense friction within his own party, such as when The Washington Times reported that McCain and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham "first checked with Mr. Kennedy before deciding to vote with the Massachusetts Democrat on an amendment to the Senate bill."[289] McCain's immigration stance was widely cited as a major reason for his presidential campaign's difficulty during most of 2007.
In his bid for the 2000 Presidential nomination, McCain supported expansion of the H-1B visa program, a temporary visa for skilled workers.[290] In 2005, he co-sponsored a bill with Ted Kennedy that would expand use of guest worker visas.[291]
McCain campaigned against Proposition 200, a 2004 Arizona state initiative intended to prevent illegal immigrants from voting, receiving welfare benefits, and mandated state agencies to report illegals to the federal government. McCain argued Prop 200 would be overly expensive to execute, that it would be ineffectual, and that immigration regulation falls only under the purview of the federal government.[292]
McCain has repeatedly argued that low-skilled immigrant labor is necessary to supply service roles that native-born Americans refuse. In one widely remarked-upon incident, he insisted to a union group that none of them would be willing to pick lettuce for fifty dollars an hour. The audience interrupted with offers and several weeks later demonstrators showed up at his Phoenix office to apply for lettuce picking work.[293]
In May 2007, McCain conceded to Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly that passage of amnesty will permanently change the ethnic makeup of the country. He supports a path to citizenship for an estimated twelve to twenty million immigrants, on the condition of a thirteen year waiting period.[294]
In June 2007, McCain voted in favor of declaring English as the official language of the federal government.[295]
McCain has subsequently stated that the nation's first priority must be to emphasize border security, and that debate over immigration is a secondary issue.
