From CBS News' John Bentley:

(WASHINGTON) Despite having failed to achieve immigration reform in the Senate, John McCain told the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy group he would “fix our broken borders.”

“Many Americans, with good cause, did not believe us when we said we would secure our borders, and so we failed in our efforts,” McCain said at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) annual convention today.

“We must prove to them that we can and will secure our borders first, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States.”

McCain said it was important to “recognize the important economic necessity of immigrant laborers,” but not to excuse those who came to the U.S. illegally or give them rights ahead of those who emigrated legally.

In a wide-ranging speech touching on the economy, energy security, and education, McCain lamented that nearly half of Hispanics who enter high school do not graduate with their class.

“In many schools, particularly where people are struggling the hardest, the situation is dire,” he said. “I believe sincerely it is the civil rights challenge of our time.”

McCain proposed increased school choice, holding teachers responsible for results, and rewarding superior teachers as the antidote to failing schools.