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SEIU Targets House Republicans In New Immigration Ads

SEIU Targets House Republicans In New Immigration Ads
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U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., speaks after retaining his seat in Colorado's Fourth Congressional District during a Republican Party election night gathering in the club level of Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The Service Employees International Union launched a series of Spanish-language ads on Tuesday going after House Republicans for their failure on immigration reform, specifically targeting four lawmakers who had previously expressed openness to working on the issue.

The television ads will air for two weeks in the districts of Reps. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Joe Heck (R-Nev.) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). All four men were initially considered potential supporters of immigration reform -- Valadao even joined with Democrats in supporting a comprehensive bill -- but in the end, those efforts went nowhere.

SEIU Executive Vice President Rocio Saenz said Republicans are to blame for blocking immigration reform, and the four members targeted in the ad must be held accountable as part of their party.

"The excuses, the blatant anti-immigrant rhetoric and their unwillingness to vote for immigration reform have made it abundantly clear to us all that Republicans are not interested in creating inroads or addressing the concerns of the Latino and immigrant community," Saenz said in a statement. "Republicans cannot hide behind irrational pretexts or lawsuits -- we're calling them out on the most important issue for the fastest-growing electorate in our country."

"Congressmen Coffman, Gardner, Valadao and Heck are all part of a Republican Party that must face a large constituency of Latino voters and be held accountable to their party's consistent catering to anti-immigrant extremists," she continued.

The ads feature a narrator quoting her grandmother as saying, "Tell me who you're with, and I'll tell you who you are."

"Why? Because Republicans again and again insult our community, and blocked immigration reform," the narrator continues, as translated by SEIU. "And the worst: They have voted against our future and our Dreamers. This November, we must go to the polls and vote against Republicans."

All four congressmen are from districts with large Latino populations. Gardner, who is running for the U.S. Senate this November, faces a substantial Latino vote in his statewide race.

Three of the four members being targeted were the previously the subjects of positive ads on immigration. Valadao, Heck and Coffman were included in ads purchased by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in May that encouraged immigration reform.

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Before You Go

11 Ways Immigration Reform Helps The Economy
Reform Would Help Curb The Deficit(01 of11)
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Immigration reform would reduce the federal deficit by $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years, according to an April analysis by the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank. (credit:Getty Images)
Expelling Immigrants Is Expensive(02 of11)
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Expelling the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States would cost $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years, according to CNBC. That's because it costs the government more than $8,000 to deport each person. (credit:Getty Images)
Reform Would Help Fix The Social Security Problem(03 of11)
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Immigration reform would help bolster Social Security because more legal workers would mean more people contributing payroll taxes to its trust fund, according to an analysis from the Social Security administration. Undocumented workers already contribute $15 billion per year to Social Security. (credit:AP)
Immigrants Start Successful Businesses(04 of11)
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More than a quarter of technology and engineering firms started between 1995 and 2005 had a foreign-born owner, according to the Washington Post. One of the founders of Yahoo!, Jerry Yang, is an immigrant from Taiwan. (credit:AP)
Reform Would Save $410 Billion Over The Next 10 Years(05 of11)
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The immigration reform bill proposed by the "gang of eight" senators would save $410 billion over the next decade, according to an analysis from Gordon Gray, the director of fiscal policy at the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank. The savings would come largely from a boost in GDP resulting from undocumented immigrants gaining citizenship and in turn likely making more money. (credit:AP)
High-Tech Companies Say Reform Would Boost Their Bottom Line(06 of11)
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Companies like Microsoft and Google have said that immigration reform would help them by allowing for more H1B visas, a special kind of visa geared toward highly-skilled immigrants. The tech giants say they can't find enough qualified people in the U.S. to fill their staffing needs. (credit:AP)
Reform Would Boost The Wages Of Native-Born Workers(07 of11)
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U.S.-born workers see between a 0.1 and 0.6 percent boost in wages on average with an increase in immigration, according to a January report from the Hamilton Project, an economic policy initiative of the nonpartisan Brookings Institution. That's because immigrant workers bring skills with them that complement those of native-born workers, leading to new jobs. (credit:AP)
Immigrants Are Entrepreneurial (08 of11)
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Immigrants are more than twice as likely than native-born Americans to start new businesses, according to a White House report on immigration reform. (credit:AP)
Reform Would Boost GDP By More Than $1 Trillion Over 10 Years(09 of11)
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Immigration reform would boost GDP by $1.5 trillion -- or about 1 percent -- over 10 years, according to an estimate from UCLA professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda cited by CNBC. (credit:AP)
Immigrants Create Jobs(10 of11)
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Businesses owned by immigrants created 4.7 million jobs in the U.S. in 2007, according to a White House report on immigration reform. (credit:AP)
Reform Would Bring In More Money Than It Costs In Benefits(11 of11)
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Though many critics of immigration reform argue against the cost of providing increased public benefits, analysts say higher spending is not a likely consequence. A Congressional Budget Analysis of George W. Bush's 2007 immigration reform proposal found that it would cost the government $23 billion in more public services, but bring in $48 billion in revenue, according to the Washington Post. (credit:Getty Images)
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