John McCain has been trumpeting his record on immigration reform in Spanish language ads, hoping to gain Latino votes by distancing himself from his party’s right wing. Now, in perhaps his greatest show of support for a liberal immigration agenda, McCain pointedly ignored one of the country’s most high-profile immigration hardliners and one of the GOP’s strongest candidates this November.

At a recent campaign stop in Scranton, Pa., the largest city in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District, McCain did not mention Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, who is running a challenge to Democratic incumbent Paul Kanjorski.

At the event, which was hosted by the Irish-American Presidential Forum, McCain told the crowd, “There are 50,000 Irish men and women in this country illegally at this time who are hard working people and who want to become citizens.” He reiterated the need for comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

“This nation is stronger for the infusion of fresh blood and vitality that has come to this country in wave after wave,” he said. “Everyone that has come to this country has enriched this nation, including our Hispanic citizenry.”

The apparent snub to Lou Barletta has angered anti-illegal-immigration activists, but with Barletta more popular in Pennsylvania than McCain has ever been, it will remain to be seen whom this move hurts.