WASHINGTON — With an estimated 9.2 million Hispanic voters poised to play a critical role in November, John McCain and Barack Obama each pledged yesterday to make overhauling immigration laws a priority as they courted influential Hispanic leaders who could be pivotal in key swing states like Florida.

McCain, the senator from the border state of Arizona who disappointed some Hispanic leaders by appearing to temper his support for comprehensive immigration law changes during the Republican primary, told the crowd that fixing U.S. immigration policy would be a priority — even as he acknowledged it's not popular with some members of his own party.

"It'll be my top priority yesterday, today and tomorrow," McCain told the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in Washington.

Speaking an hour after McCain, Obama credited McCain with championing immigration reform that included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. But he accused his rival of abandoning the cause as he courted the conservative base of the Republican Party. Both support a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration laws, though McCain has lately emphasized a need to first secure the nation's borders.

"What (McCain) didn't mention is when he was running for his party's nomination, he walked away from that commitment," Obama said. "If we are going to solve the challenges we face, we can't vacillate, we can't shift depending on politics."

McCain told the crowd that his previous attempts at overhauling immigration laws and giving undocumented workers a shot at citizenship failed because "Americans didn't believe we would take care of our national security requirements."

"We have to secure our borders, that's the message," he said, pledging to pursue immigration reform in a "a human and compassionate fashion."

"We will resolve the immigration issue in America and we will secure our borders," he said, his speech interrupted four times by war protesters whom the audience tried to drown out.

Obama, too, spoke first of a need for border security, along with establishing penalties for employers who exploit illegal immigrants and establishing a way to bring "the 12 million who are here illegally out of the shadows ... and put them on a pathway to citizenship."

Also yesterday, Obama said that he'll soon travel to the Middle East and Western Europe to meet with allies and discuss terrorism, nuclear weapons and global warming.

The trip, to take place this summer although travel dates were not released, will provide the freshman Illinois senator and presumed Democratic presidential nominee an opportunity for face time with some of the world leaders he'd be working with if elected in November.

More immediately, it gives the 46-year-old opponent of the Iraq war an opportunity to strengthen his foreign policy credentials, which McCain, a veteran senator, Vietnam war hero and supporter of the Iraq war, has criticized as insufficient.

And with much of the world fascinated by Obama's candidacy, and with a large fan base in Europe, an enthusiastic reception overseas could be a selling point for Obama with American voters concerned about the nation's reputation under President Bush.

Obama said he will stop in Israel, Jordan, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.