Zuckerberg-Linked Group Releases Ad Blasting House GOP For Immigration Reform Intransigence

The Council for American Job Growth, an affiliate of the Zuckerberg-founded and financed Fwd.us group, has released a new ad blasting House Republicans for slowing the path to immigration reform.

Fwd.us is controversial in Silicon Valley, where its tactics have caused a stir. After the group financed advertising praising the Keystone XL Pipeline, it lost Elon Musk as a supporter. The efficacy of the group’s methods is also open for question.

The Council for American Job Growth will spend $500,000 on the ad buy, running the spot in all 50 states, TechCrunch confirmed. The ad lays out a simple message: Immigration reform is a legislative must, both teams in Congress agree, and action now is better than action later. The spot began running today.

Fwd.us was founded by Zuckerberg and a cadre of technology elites, including Bill Gates, Ron Conway, Reid Hoffman, and Sean Parker. It has two affiliates, the aforementioned Council for American Job Growth, and Americans for a Conservative Direction, which are used as vehicles to push both parties toward Fwd.us-blessed goals.

Here’s the ad:

Why should you care that technology money is being funneled into the realm of political advertisement? High-skill immigration was rolled into comprehensive immigration reform, meaning that it can’t pass without a larger immigration package passing. And given that American technology firms are keen to increase the number of H1-B visas, making it easier for them to hire, they have a stake in the larger immigration question.

IMAGE BY FLICKR USER ZOE RUDISILL UNDER CC BY 2.0 LICENSE (IMAGE HAS BEEN CROPPED)