Zuckerberg-linked group rips House GOP on immigration reform

A pro-immigration organization linked to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is going after House Republicans for failing to act on immigration.

A 60-second ad released on Monday scolds House leadership for not making moves to bring a comprehensive immigration bill to the House floor. 

{mosads}“No one debates we need to fix our country’s broken immigration system,” a voice says over clips of recent news stories and scenes from Capitol Hill. 

“Republican leaders know it. They’ve even said so time and again. So why are Republicans cooling, retreating and even privately saying they’d rather do nothing this year?”

{mosads}“No, nothing won’t do,” the voice adds. “Call House Republicans today. Tell them we’ve waited long enough; pass immigration reform.”

The ad is sponsored by the Council for American Job Growth, a group affiliated with FWD.us that targets liberals. According to a spokeswoman, the group spent about $500,000 on the commercial, which is set to run in all 50 states for about two weeks. It began running on Monday.

Zuckerberg co-founded FWD.us last year to shepherd a comprehensive immigration reform bill through the House and Senate. The group has strong backing from the tech industry, including from Google chief Eric Schmidt and Yahoo head Marissa Mayer.

House Republican leaders have been reluctant to vote on a comprehensive immigration reform package so far. In January, leaders released a set of principles on the issue, but those have yet to be translated into a bill with significant backing.

Earlier this year, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) claimed “widespread doubt” among Republicans about President Obama’s ability to follow the law has made it “difficult to move any immigration legislation” for the time being.

In addition to the Council for American Job Growth, FWD.us is also affiliated with Americans for a Conservative Direction, which targets right-leaning voters.