WASHINGTON — John McCain, angling to win a bigger share of the fast-growing Latino vote, is taking the risky step of placing an immigration overhaul at the center of his appeal.
The presumed Republican presidential nominee, who trails Barack Obama among Latinos, had been focused on assuring conservatives that securing the U.S. border with Mexico would be his immigration priority. But McCain has adopted a message that gives equal weight to helping employers and immigrant workers and their families. That suggests that as president he would back the kind of legislation that has roiled many in his party -- most notably, a legalization plan for undocumented workers.
McCain's approach was on display Tuesday when he told the League of United Latin American Citizens gathering here that he would deal "practically and humanely with those who came here, as my distant ancestors did, to build a better, safer life for their families."
And in a new series of advertisements -- in Spanish and English -- and a five-minute video, McCain talks about his long ties to Latinos and says immigrants' needs are "as important" as helping businesses and securing the border.
"We will solve it with legislation that's practical and fair," McCain says of immigration in the video, according to a script obtained by The Times. "We will abide by the law in every way. We will secure our borders first and ask border-state governors to certify that the border is secure.
"Then we will address the burden U.S. employers are enduring by creating a temporary-worker program, so employers can hire and people can have jobs. And as important, we will be sensitive to the immigrant workers and their families who are doing the work that must be done," he adds.
McCain steers clear of directly calling for a pathway to citizenship. But his subtle language matches that of legalization advocates.
The video, filmed recently in New Mexico, may be shown publicly next week, when McCain is scheduled to address another large Latino group, the National Council of La Raza, which is meeting in San Diego.
His move to highlight immigrants' needs underscores the importance of Latino voters -- particularly in the key battleground states of Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida -- and suggests that whoever wins the presidency will be committed to giving some kind of legal status to many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S.
