ohn McCain on Monday asked Latinos to trust him on the thorny issue of how to treat the nation’s illegal immigrants, a day after Barack Obama accused the Arizona senator of backing away from a key position for fear of alienating GOP conservatives.

Far behind in polls that show Obama leading 2 to 1 among Latino voters, a feisty McCain spoke to the National Council of La Raza a day after the Illinois senator, and said he intends to make comprehensive immigration reform a top priority if elected.

But disappointing some at the Latino civil rights gathering, he said he stuck to his position that he only would consider a path to citizenship for illegal residents after he can prove to Americans that the border is secure. Otherwise, he argued, reform measures will never be enacted. He cited fears of national security and that a porous border leads to drug smuggling and other crimes.

“I do ask for your trust that when I say I remain committed to fair, practical and comprehensive immigration reform, I mean it. I mean it. With all due modesty, I think I have earned that trust.”

Taking risks

As evidence, he said he would have “never risked the alienation of parts of my own party” if he wasn’t serious about finding a solution. He also vocally condemned those who are using the immigration debate to “denigrate the contributions of Hispanics” - including those among Republican ranks.

“We cannot forget the humanity God commands of us as we seek a remedy to this problem,” he said, prompting applause from the audience of 2,000.

Illegal immigration has become a flash point between McCain and Obama as they vie for the votes of an estimated 10 million Latinos expected to cast ballots in November. Upping the stakes, many of those voters live in key swing states.

McCain has acknowledged his retreat from his own 2006 legislation, co-written with Democrat Sen. Ted Kennedy, that included a provision to allow illegal immigrants to apply for citizenship after taking certain steps. It never garnered sufficient bipartisan support to pass.

During the competitive GOP primary he began saying that a safe border is paramount before a citizenship initiative can be pursued.

“We do need to have our border secure, which we can do in fairly rapid fashion,” McCain said, responding to an audience member seeking a commitment regarding the fate of the estimated 12 million illegal residents in the United States. Only then, he said, could he “guarantee” that the American public would be ready to embrace a comprehensive solution.

Attacks Obama

Despite sparring with several questioners over his position on illegal immigrants, he ignored a moderator’s attempt to end the session. McCain pointedly reminded the audience that Obama had refused his invitation to debate the issues “on the same stage” and bristled at Obama’s Sunday accusation that McCain dropped granting illegal residents a mechanism to gain citizenship for political expediency.

Still, McCain’s position could hurt him among some Latinos. “I’m a Democrat but I was considering voting for McCain,” said Nick Aguilar, a Vietnam veteran from San Diego. “But not after he changed his mind about immigration.”

McCain said Monday that Obama is the one who “declined to cast some of those tough votes” and noted that Obama had sponsored labor-backed amendments around guest-worker issues “intended to kill the legislation.” He also suggested that he has a better understanding of Latin America than Obama, adding “I hope Senator Obama soon visits some of the other countries of the Americas for the first time.”

Manuel Ramirez, a Latino Republican activist from Irvine, said many Latinos agree with McCain’s position on immigration.

“When we have open borders, like right now, it’s a huge drain on our schools and health care,” Ramirez said. He said McCain has proved himself as “the best person to handle the issue.”

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