PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — An immigration-control group on Wednesday began running more than $1 million in ads that criticize lawmakers for not doing more to stop the flow of new workers into the United States.
NumbersUSA will run the 30-second ad in 10 states where there are competitive Senate races. The ads are not explicitly political but say immigrants are the ones finding work, while longtime residents are struggling to win jobs.
“Finally, the economy is starting to crank out new jobs. But who should get those jobs?” a female narrator says.
She asks voters to consider whether Congress should allow immigrants to come into the country, “Or should the jobs go to the millions of Americans and legal immigrants already here, still looking for work?”
NumbersUSA bills itself as a non-partisan grassroots group that wants to reduce the number of immigrants in order to help American workers. The group claims it has 2 million activists who want to reduce the numbers of newcomers allowed to move to the United States.
NumbersUSA operates under part of the tax code that allows it to keep secret its donors because it is technically focused on public education and social welfare. Nowhere in the ads does the group tell voters how to cast ballots, but only to investigate candidates’ records.
The ads will air in states with competitive Senate races: Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire and North Carolina. Roughly 70 percent of the spending will be on broadcast ads, while the balance will be on Internet ads.
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