Pro-immigrant group launches campaign following ‘s—hole’ comments

An immigration advocacy group released Wednesday a series of ads targeting Republican senators that reference President Trump’s alleged comments about “shithole countries.”

The high five-figure digital ad purchase by iAmerica Action will run through the week, ahead of Friday’s government shutdown deadline.

“Build dreams, not walls,” reads the generic ad set to run in Washington, D.C., followed by a quote attributed to Trump: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”

{mosads}

The ad will also target Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Susan Collins (Maine), and Dean Heller (Nev.) in their home states.

The comments were attributed to Trump by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) after a White House meeting to discuss a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) replacement proposed by a bipartisan group of senators that included Durbin and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Trump reportedly made the comment in reference to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries, a central part of the discussion because of proposed changes to the diversity lottery and family reunification programs.

Congress has until Friday to agree on a funding deal to avoid a government shutdown, and many Democrats have said they won’t vote for any funding bill unless DACA is addressed.

Trump rescinded DACA in September, giving Congress until March 5 to find a permanent replacement. At the time, the program had about 690,000 beneficiaries who were allowed to live and work in the United States despite being undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as minors.