Political alliances that are decidedly unexpected to some are being formed in Congress because of immigration reform. The Los Angeles Times has reported that the group known as America’s Voice has defended Senator Lindsey Graham after he was attacked by members of his own party due to his support of immigration reform, even going so far as to donate $60,000 to the organization Republicans for Immigration Reform.
A variety of other alliances are also being created between groups that in the past have not had much in the way of common ground. Republican operatives and liberal Latino organizations, labor unions and the Chamber of Commerce, and hi-tech companies and faith groups have been teaming up in order to fight for immigration reform.
Lobbyists are using these new alliances in order to try to persuade Republicans in Congress to agree to offer a path to US citizenship for the nation’s undocumented immigrant population. Targeting of House Republicans by immigration advocates is expected to increase over the course of the next few months. It is six years since Congress last even made an attempt to address the issue of immigration back in 2007. “We will see a significant ramp-up of activities in August and September,” says labor giant AFL-CIO campaign manager Tom Snyder.
Republicans who have already given their support to comprehensive immigration reform have witnessed a rise in positive comments from advocacy groups, while Democrats are hoping to create a House-Senate committee that would force the core components of immigration reform to be brought to the floor of the House.