Zuckerberg Immigration Group Targets Steve King

The pro-immigration reform group backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is launching an ad campaign against Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, accusing him of “attacks on American soldiers and the military” for his staunchly anti-reform stance.

The broadcast and digital ad buy in Iowa features King’s comments from an interview with Breitbart News saying he would oppose efforts to allow illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children, so-called DREAMers, to gain permanent residency by joining the military. “As soon as they raise their hand and say ‘I’m unlawfully present in the United States,’ we’re not going to take your oath into the military, but we’re going to take your deposition and we have a bus for you to Tijuana,” King said.

“Instead of supporting our military, Steve King, a Republican member of Congress, insults the brave soldiers who are immigrants and those who would proudly serve,” the ad says. “Steve King’s attacks on American soldiers and the military is wrong.”

“Rep. Steve King and his anti-immigrant allies want to deport over 11 million people, and by claiming ‘I think [Congress] blows up’ if a military DREAMer provision is even considered, he demonstrates that they’re willing to use threats over Congressional procedure to block every conceivable path to even the least controversial aspects of immigration reform,” said Todd Schulte, the executive director of Fwd.us, which is backed by many Silicon Valley executives. “He compares allowing DREAMers willing to lay their lives on the line for our country to earn citizenship to giving out candy. He says those who stand up and volunteer to serve should be put on a bus and deported to Tijuana. King’s comments are an insult to immigrants as well as to the commitment and sacrifices that U.S. service members and veterans make every day. It’s just plain wrong that Steve King’s fear-mongering voice is one of those dominating the immigration debate.”

A second ad features Alejandro Morales, who the group said has lived in Chicago since he was only seven months old but can’t enlist because of his undocumented status