Advocacy Groups Buy Spanish-Language Ads Attacking GOP on Immigration

Immigrants rights groups promised to mobilize against Republicans who helped block reform efforts, and they threw their first punch today with a $300,000 ad buy on Spanish-language radio stations across the country. The ads will tie the GOP to anti-immigrant rhetoric and fear-mongering and will criticize the party for obstructing Democrat efforts on immigration reform.

The ads will be played in cities with heavy Latino populations and competitive House or Senate races. The idea is to encourage Latino voters, who broadly support immigration reform, to turn up at the polls in November and vote for Democrats. The Service Employees International Union, Mi Familia Vota Civic Participation Campaign, and America’s Voice teamed up to fund the ads.

No Senate Republicans have come forward to support immigration reform, and the party voted last week to filibuster the defense authorization bill that was set to include the DREAM Act as an amendment. The act would have helped some illegal immigrant students and military service members who entered the U.S. as children gain legal status.

“Last week, the same Republicans who have rallied their support behind Arizona’s ‘papers please’ law made a clear choice to crush the dreams of tens of thousands of high-achieving immigrant youth,” SEIU Secretary Treasurer Eliseo Medina said in a press release. “Today, it is critical that our community understands who is on their side and what is at stake if we do not hold our elected leaders accountable in November.”

Some Republican candidates have attempted to win over Latino voters, but so far have failed to gain major traction. Experts — even from the right — have argued the GOP’s current immigration rhetoric has done serious damage to its reputation among the growing Latino population.