In a September 23 article in The Hill headlined, "House GOP backs off immigration, avoids openly questioning McCain," reporter Michael O'Brien asserted: “House Republicans have resisted making illegal immigration a major campaign theme this year, aware that their presidential candidate is at odds with them on the issue and voters are more focused on the economy,” adding, “Many GOP members have previously questioned McCain for co-sponsoring legislation with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would have put millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.” However, O'Brien did not note that McCain has since abandoned his support for the immigration bill he co-sponsored with Kennedy, saying, during CNN's January 30 Republican presidential debate, that he would no longer vote for it if it came up for a vote in the Senate. McCain now says that “we've got to secure the borders first” -- a position at odds with his prior assertion that border security could not be disaggregated from other aspects of comprehensive immigration reform without being rendered ineffective. Indeed, notwithstanding O'Brien's assertion that McCain is “at odds with” House Republicans on immigration reform, McCain's reversal on border security more closely conformed to the views of the GOP base.

In a June 20 Politico piece, journalist Gebe Martinez reported on McCain's reversal on immigration:

McCain, the Arizona senator, dismayed Latinos last year when he stepped back from his immigration bill that would have tightened the borders and legalized undocumented immigrants. As boos and hisses from angry Republican conservatives grew louder at campaign events, he switched course and vowed to “first” secure the borders. Were his failed bill to come up again, he would not vote for it, he said.

Media Matters for America has previously documented other examples of The Hill ignoring McCain's reversal on the immigration legislation he co-sponsored.

From the September 23 Hill article:

House Republicans have resisted making illegal immigration a major campaign theme this year, aware that their presidential candidate is at odds with them on the issue and voters are more focused on the economy.

Many GOP members have previously questioned McCain for co-sponsoring legislation with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would have put millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

But now that he is at the top of the ticket and trying to win over Hispanic voters -- a group that could help decide this year's election -- down-ballot GOPers have toned down their comments and refocused on other issues.

“Republicans think immigration is the issue to seal the deal for them, but it hasn't been that,” said Lynn Tramonte, policy director for America's Voice, an organization that supports the so-called comprehensive immigration legislation that McCain helped draft.

Even McCain's critics agree that the issue has faded.

[...]

But another reason for the shift is to avoid the perception of the party rank and file and those running for the first time openly questioning their presumed leader on such a visceral topic.

Downplaying illegal immigration on the campaign trail leaves House Republican incumbents and candidates in a tight spot. On one hand, they are trying to win over a smaller group of voters, and depending on where the district is, illegal immigration could be a hot topic. But if they are too vocal on the issue, they could be seen as challenging McCain, who was elected to the Senate by a much larger and less parochial group of voters but could be hurt in the presidential election by public clashes with his party.

McCain survived attacks from Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who sought the party's presidential nomination with a platform that focused attention on illegal immigration. Tancredo challenged McCain during the Republican primary debates on the topic, but other than that, his campaign never gained any traction. Tancredo is not seeking another term in the House.

Further dissonance in messaging from Republicans, Tramonte said, could hurt McCain's chances.

“It's absolutely a handicap for him [McCain],” Tramonte said. “McCain did have strong support among Latinos in Arizona and around the country,” she said, adding that that may be jeopardized by harsh rhetoric by Republican candidates.