McCain: Illegal immigrants intentionally cause car accidents

Sen. John McCain has taken a hard turn to the right.

In an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor, McCain threw his support behind what appears to be the nation's stiffest immigration law in Arizona -- and even took it one step farther.

McCain said that undocumented immigrants are a threat to American citizens because they are intentionally causing car accidents.

“It's the drive-by that -- the drivers of cars with illegals in it that are intentionally causing accidents on the freeway," the onetime Republican presidential nominee told O'Reilly.

“The state of Arizona is acting and doing what they feel they need to do in light of the fact that the federal government is not fulfilling its fundamental responsibility to secure our borders,” McCain added. "Look, our border is not secured. Our citizens are not safe."

McCain's Senate spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan told an Arizona newspaper that "McCain was talking about vehicles carrying illegal immigrants that are involved in dangerous, high-speed law-enforcement pursuits."

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu at a Washington, D.C., news conference where McCain and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., announced their new 10-point border-security plan:

Buchanan pointed to comments made by an Arizona sheriff who claimed that high-speed chases of illegal immigrants were endangering lives.

“We’ve had numerous officers that have been killed by illegal immigrants in Arizona,” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told Washington, DC reporters at a press conference organized by Republican senators. “In just one patrol area, we’ve had 64 pursuits -- failure to yield for an officer -- in one month. That’s out of control.”

Remarked the New York Daily News, "For most lawmakers, DWI stands for “driving while intoxicated.” For Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), DWI stands for “driving while illegal.”

McCain appears to be veering toward more conservative positions as he faces a tough Republican primary for his Senate seat this fall.

Transcript follows the below video clip.

O'REILLY: Now, next week, the governor is going to sign, we believe, a very stringent state law that gives the police in Arizona very, very broad authority to question people. And a lot of people say it's going to be racial profiling. You're going to look for Hispanics, question them, to see if they're here legally or not. And it's just not fair. And you say why?

MCCAIN: I say that the federal responsibilities have not been fulfilled. Therefore, the states are acting -- the state of Arizona is acting and doing what they feel they need to do in light of the fact that the federal government is not fulfilling its fundamental responsibility to secure our borders. Our borders must be secure.

O'REILLY: But what about the racial profiling? You know that's going to happen has to happen.

MCCAIN: I hope -- I would be very sorry that if some of that happens. And I regret it, but I also regret the -- really, it's not just the murder of Robert Krantz. It's the people whose homes and property are being violated. It's the drive-by that -- the drivers of cars with illegals in it that are intentionally causing accidents on the freeway. Look, our border is not secured. Our citizens are not safe.