McCain visits Mexico, says more border walls needed

MEXICO CITY -- John McCain warned Mexicans that more border walls are needed before he attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration laws again, an unpopular position in a country where he had hoped to boost his standing with Hispanics.

During a trip to Mexico City, the Republican senator also said he opposed unilaterally changing parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as liberal Mexican politicians and his rival Barack Obama have suggested.

A year ago, McCain was the co-author of a sweeping immigration-reform bill that had fired hope among millions of Mexicans living illegally in the United States.

That bill stalled in Congress, and instead the United States announced it would expand its border barriers, angering the Mexican government.

"I believe we must have comprehensive immigration reform; the American people want our borders secured first," McCain said during a news conference in Mexico City.

"That will require some walls, it will require virtual fences, it will require high-technology equipment. We must secure our borders and then we will address the issue of comprehensive immigration reform."

Some Mexicans called that the wrong strategy.

"What kind of a good neighbor builds a big wall in your face?" said Salvador Rivera, a clerk in a corner store. "As long as there are jobs in the United States, people are going to find a way up there."

McCain on Thursday wrapped up a three-day trip to Colombia and Mexico, visits aimed at showcasing McCain's foreign-policy credentials while connecting with Hispanic voters.

On Thursday morning McCain visited Mexico's holiest Roman Catholic shrine, the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe. The sprawling complex of churches marks the spot where Mary, the mother of Jesus, is said to have appeared to a Mexican Indian in 1531.

Police stood guard outside the main church as McCain laid a wreath of white roses below an Indian tunic bearing the image of Mary. Mexican Catholics believe that her image was miraculously imprinted on the tunic during one of the visions.