Mark Zuckerberg’s Pro-Immigration Group Threatens Republicans

Young undocumented immigrants being housed in dog pen like conditions no doubt favored by the GOP base

Today's Republican Party is caught between a rock and a hard place somewhat of its own making.  By welcoming racist Christofascists and white supremacists into its base with open arms , the GOP has made it very hard to maintain support among angry whites while embracing any form of immigration reform.  Meanwhile, all the demographic trends indicate that the aging white population to which the GOP has prostituted itself is headed towards a minority status in the near term with the Hispanic population exploding in relative terms.  The situation has set the stage for a form of slow political suicide.  Now, Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is funding a pro-immigration group that seeks to increase the pressure on the GOP and to target anti-immigrant Republicans.  Here are highlights from The Daily Beast:

A pro-immigration reform group founded by Mark Zuckerberg is issuing an unsubtle warning to vulnerable Republicans about the possible electoral consequences if no further progress is made on overhauling the immigration system before November.


The Council for American Job Growth, a progressive affiliate of Zuckerberg's nonpartisan FWD.us, released the results of a poll Tuesday they conducted in ten swing districts currently represented by incumbent Republicans that have significant Hispanic and Asian-American voting populations.

The survey simulated the way this fall’s campaign might unfold if a group like Fwd.us launched pro-immigration advertisements in these districts, linking the Republican incumbents to inaction on immigration reform.


After being read a sample negative advertisement linking the Republican incumbent to GOP leadership to, for example, “punishing… young immigrants and taking away their opportunity to make a positive contribution to society” by blocking a bill that aided DREAMers, vote shares for the incumbent dropped from 51 percent to 45 percent.
Among independents, the vote shares of Republican incumbents dropped seven percentage points after these messages were read.


“The data makes clear that there are real electoral consequences for Republicans in these districts, because voters tie them to their party's own failure to take action on passing reform legislation,” FWD.us spokeswoman Kate Hansen said.
Overall, respondents in the 10 GOP swing districts broadly supported immigration reform – 76 percent supported a proposal including a pathway to citizenship and border security, while 19 percent opposed it. And among these same voters, a majority – 58 percent – said that it was personally important to them that Congress fix America’s immigration’s system.

Romney Campaign Confirms He Would End Obama’s DREAM Directive

While it was touched on last night in detail, one issue on which Mitt Romney has again flip flopped - lied might be the better word - is on the issue of immigration and the approach towards undocumented youth who came to America as children through no fault of their own.  By executive order, Barack Obama has created a two year visa program that would allow such young people to avoid deportation.  Romney has claimed that he'd push for a plan that would provide relief for such meritorious individuals.  Apparently, it was all a lie and Romney's campaign has confirmed that he would rescind the Obama directive and basically kick these individuals to the curb.Think Progress looks at this not surprising about face by the liar in chief.  Here are excepts:

Mitt Romney tried to moderate his immigration positions on Monday before tonight’s debate in Colorado when he said he would not take away the temporary visas from undocumented immigrants who benefit from Obama’s deferred action policy. “I’m not going to take something that they’ve purchased,” he told The Denver Post. He added that before those two-year visas expire, “we will have the full immigration reform plan that I’ve proposed,” although he gave no details about his immigration plan.

Today, his campaign confirmed to the New York Times that Romney would end the program to grant deportation deferrals to young undocumented immigrants who qualify.

As many as 1.7 million DREAM Act-eligible undocumented immigrants could benefit from the policy, which gives them temporary legal status to work in the U.S. More than 80,000 people have applied for deferred action since the policy went into effect on August 15, but the Huffington Post reports that the wait time for the process can take up to four to six months. In the first month, 29 undocumented immigrants received deferrals, so it is likely that most of the applicants will not receive an answer before the inauguration in January.

Romney apparently realized that after gays and Muslims, the Christofascist/Tea Party base of the GOP most hates undocumented immigrants, the majority of whom are of Hispanic descent and not "white."

Romney Advisor Files Law Suit to Force Deportation of Young Illegal Immigrants

Mitt Romney is already seen as radioactive by many in the Hispanic community because of his harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy proposals that screw over all but the wealthiest Americans.  So how do you make yourself even more unpalatable?  Have your adviser file a lawsuit seeking to force the deportation of young illegal immigrants who would be given an opportunity for relief under the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals plan.  Remember, to qualify for relief, these young people need to meet a number of criteria, not the least of which is that they have come to the country before they were 16 and be a student, high school graduate or military veteran.  What's the real offense of these young people?  It's simple: they are non-whites who are hated by the Christofascist?Tea Party Base of the GOP.  Yep, those same folks who pretend to honor the Gospel message.  Both the Virginian Pilot and Politico have coverage. Here are highlights from the Politico article:

A Mitt Romney adviser is representing 10 federal employees in a lawsuit aimed at undoing President Barack Obama’s June immigration directive.   Kris Kobach, Kansas’s secretary of state and a Romney immigration counsel, is representing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials who believe that Obama’s immigration action requires them to break federal law.

“The Directive is an extension of the DREAM Act, which was rejected by Congress, and aims to grant an amnesty to 1.7 million illegal aliens. It violates federal immigration laws that require certain aliens to be placed in removal proceedings,” Kobach said in a statement.

The directive allows young illegal immigrants who met certain criteria be allowed to stay in the country. To qualify, an individual must have come to the United States before they were 16 and be a student, high school graduate or military veteran. They must have also been in the country for five years, and not be considered a risk to national security or public safety.

The plaintiffs argue that such a decision requires legislative approval, and are asking the court to declare it unconstitutional. 

The Virginian Pilot story also adds:

Matt Chandler, a DHS spokesman, said the department uses prosecutorial discretion to focus its efforts on arresting and deporting criminal immigrants, and the newest policy is in line with that effort.  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services started accepting applications for the program on Aug. 15. Immigrants have to pay a $465 paperwork fee for the program.

The GOP base truly despises anyone who isn't white, conservative Christian and heterosexual.