Ping!
McCain’s proposal to “secure the border first” is for 4 border governors (that’s 2 RINOs and 2 Dems) certify that the border is secure, supposedly, before the amnesty phase will begin.
Let’s say that the 2 RINOs and 2 Dems actually would act in good faith, which is dubious, to say the least. By the time Kennedy&co. got finished with the bill, it would be so full of loopholes that if McCain signed the bill, they could do the amnesty part first anyway.
All of the neutral economists that have studied illegal immigration have proven that the impact is a small net negative in the short term. That leaves the uncertainty of continued illegal migration. Giving incentive to break our laws and putting the US on an uncertain long term, spending crisis is nuts. Plus the first people to get cut in business cycles are low skilled labor. We swell our natural unemployment and we grow our entitlement costs.
And at the heart of the problem is McCain and his double talk express—he want hispanic votes and he wants Republican votes—his immigration stance shatters his spending stance.