The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is running Spanish-language radio ads aimed at rallying the Latino constituency in districts represented by a dozen House Republicans. The ads, which according to the union cost $200,000, urge listeners to call representatives' offices and ask them to "reject their party's extremists" and support immigration reform with a path to citizenship for the undocumented. The campaign is the latest such effort from SEIU, which in June also launched a seven-figure print ad campaign in support of immigration reform. The organization estimates that one-quarter of its members are Latino immigrants, a proportion higher than that of any other union in the country.
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In the new ads, two representatives serve as the "extremists" against which other representatives might be measured. "These illegal aliens are criminals," says Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) in a clip, "and we need to treat them as such."
"You don't get to come over here and be takers," says Republican Rep. Randy Weber of Texas in a clip which follows.
"This is offensive and an insult to our community," the voiceover responds. "Fortunately, on the other side are true patriots - business owners, religious leaders and elected officials from both parties - who have declared themselves firmly in support of immigration reform."
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10 representatives are named in the campaign along with the number to their offices. Two others - Texas Republican Reps. Ted Poe and Pete Olson - go unnamed, but similar ads are reportedly running in their districts.
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The 10 representatives are California representatives Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Gary Miller and Howard McKeon; Colorado representatives Scott Tipton and Mike Coffman; Florida Representative Daniel Webster, Nevada representatives Joe Heck and Mark Amodei; and Texas Representative Randy Weber.
In June, after the SEIU launched its seven-figure ad buy in support of the immigration debate, SEIU Secretary-Treasurer Eliseo Medina told reporters, "Even though today [only] 38 members of the Republican caucus have a significant Latino presence, those 38 are enough for them to lose the majority in the House. And this will keep getting worse with each two-year election cycle." Its June ads featured Republicans, law enforcement officials, veterans, small business owners and young undocumented immigrants, in an effort to portray opposition to immigration reform as the province of no one but extremists.
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