McCain said one reason legislation he co-sponsored with Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy failed last year was that too much of the debate focused on the provision to allow undocumented immigrants to attain citizenship through a series of steps, including learning English, passing a background check, and paying a fine and back taxes.

"One of the mistakes we made last time was not emphasizing border security as much as we should have," McCain told reporters aboard the bus between Des Moines and Ames.

Immigrants’ List is dedicated to preserving and promoting the historic benefits immigrants of all backgrounds have bestowed upon the United States through their risk-taking enterprising spirit, their commitment to hard work and their families, their cultural diversity, as well as their quest for freedom—a quest that has defined our nation since the arrival of America’s first immigrants.

To achieve these goals, Immigrants’ List—the nation’s only pro-immigration PAC—will support politicians and political campaigns, regardless of party, that support due process, more visa numbers, judicial review, and other legislation favorable to immigrants and their U.S.-citizen families and employers. We will work to oppose candidates and political incumbents who use fear, disinformation, and manipulation to divide citizens from immigrants and to deprive immigrants of basic civil and political rights.