“I know Senator McCain used to buck his party on immigration by fighting for comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it,” Obama said. “But when he was running for his party’s nomination, he abandoned his courageous stance, and said that he wouldn’t even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote… We need a President who isn’t going to walk away from something as important as comprehensive reform when it becomes politically unpopular.”

The LULAC rally is the second of three immigration-related stops within a period of three weeks. McCain also spoke at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials on June 28, where he made similar remarks to the ones before the LULAC.

McCain vowed to secure the borders “while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States” and as well as praise Hispanic soldiers with “names such as Rodriguez, Hernandez and Lopez that so sadly adorn” the Vietnam Memorial at both events.

The bulk of these two speeches, however, focused on the economy and job creation, not immigration.

McCain will speak at La Raza’s annual meeting in California later this week. La Raza, which translates to “the race” in English, has been roundly blasted by right-leaning border security advocates who oppose the group’s liberal stance on amnesty and other government benefits like taxpayer-funded healthcare, drivers’ licenses and free in-state tuition for illegal aliens, as well as bilingual requirements for state agencies.