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Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) (pictured) faces Democrat Wesley Reed in a race to represent Texas' 27th Congressional District. | Bill Clark via Getty Images

When several dozen protesters lined up outside the Corpus Christi office of Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold last year, holding a petition with about 10,000 signatures in favor of immigration reform, they hoped to win the Republican's support before the 2014 midterm elections.

Six months closer to the already-heated elections, immigration reform advocates have little to show for it.

Although the two-term congressman has met with advocates and expressed openness to some type of reform, he hasn't made the full-scale evolution on immigration that some Republicans in similarly Latino-heavy districts have. His seat is safe enough that despite the large number of Latino voters he represents, he doesn't need to.

Farenthold's 27th District, which sits less than 200 miles from the Mexico border, has a substantial Latino population of 345,730 -- just under half the district. But that population isn't as influential as it once was. According to U.S. Census figures, the 2012 remapping of Texas increased the voting-age population for whites in the district by more than 100,000 voters, while reducing the number of Hispanics who could vote there by about that same number. Recent figures show the district currently has 243,991 white voters compared to 233,071 Hispanic voters.

In 2010, Farenthold defeated longtime Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) by just 775 votes, following a recount. He easily won reelection in 2012, in part because the district no longer included the Latino voting bloc in the border town of Brownsville and added heavily Republican communities around Corpus Christi.

In Farenthold's 2014 election campaign, immigration will be a major part of the debate. He told HuffPost in a statement this week that although he supports legal immigration, he is "opposed to any policy that promotes illegal immigration."

"That said, our current system is broken and needs reform," he continued. "I sit on the House Judiciary Committee, where weve been actively working on concrete solutions to fix our nations immigration policy, piece-by-piece. Over the last several months, our committee has already made key advancements in reforming our immigration system by passing individual measures aimed at fixing specific problems with the current system."

The incumbent faces Democratic newcomer Wesley Reed, a 44-year-old FedEx pilot and Marine Corps Reserve member who has lived in the district for nearly six years. Reed has been seeking the support of immigration advocates, arguing that the congressman is wrong for joining his party in opposing broad reforms prior to the November general election.

"[Republicans] are more willing to adhere to tea party talking points to try to make sure they have their tea party base and support from them so they don't get any kind of primary so they can stay in office," Reed said. "But that's not what we need to do as a Congress. We need to make sure that we work together to find legitimate solutions to the problems for the people who are here undocumented."

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Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), speaks at We Belong Together event last fall. (Courtesy of We Belong Together)

While House Republicans have been adamant that immigration reform is all but dead this year, a coalition of womens groups is hoping to revive the issue, wrapping it into the war on women offensive.

Arguing that women and children bear the brunt of the burden from a broken system, and that women will be decisive in the 2014 and 2016 elections, organizers said that Republicans should reconsider their approach to immigration reform.

Unless we actually have action from House leadership, from Speaker Boehner, to move a bill forward so that the majority of his members in his House can actually vote to move this bill forward, we will continue to push and push and make sure that women voters in November understand who has blocked immigration reform,Pramila Jayapal, chair of We Belong Together, which advocates for immigration reform, said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters.

Jaypal said that the timeline for reform cant be dictated by a small group of people, and that the lack of GOP action will have a political cost for the party as it tries rebrand its image and appeal to a more diverse pool of voters.

If the Republican leadership really looks at the cost of not moving immigration reform forwardthe cost for their leadership in Congress, they will start to understand that the lack of action is continuing to play into a frame that already exists, she said.

Congresswomen Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and Judy Chu (D-CA) have joined the push.

We know that when women come together and stand up for legislation, something can get done, even in this dysfunctional Congress, DelBene said, citing the work around the Violence Against Womens Act.

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Immigration reform as a womens issue

BY Rabbi Shoshanah Conover, Temple Sholom of Chicago; Pastor Wilfredo De Jesus, New Life Covenant Church; Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago; Bishop Jeffrey Lee, Episcopal Diocese of Chicago; Imam Matthew Ramadan, Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago; Very Rev. Donald Senior, Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago February 19, 2014 6:30PM

As leaders of our faith communities and witnesses to the ongoing debate on immigration reform, we believe it is time for our national leaders to end their wavering and partisanship on this critical issue. The need for reform is not about a particular political partys electoral successes it is a serious moral issue that impacts millions of people in our churches, mosques and synagogues.

Two weeks ago, the prayers of faith leaders across the country were partially answered as our elected officials on both sides of the aisle took steps to move immigration reform forward. First, President Obama reaffirmed his support for reform in the State of the Union address, and two days later, House Republicans independently released their Standards for Immigration Reform, a general outline meant to guide the congressional GOPs approach on this issue in 2014. These positive moves by both sides showed courage and compromise.

The GOPs guidelines touched on many of the most important aspects of reform, including border security, internal enforcement, reforms to the legal immigration system and DREAM Act-like provisions. In addition, we were particularly pleased that the Standards included the opportunity for those living in the country without legal status to get right with the law and become participatory members of our society. Thankfully, the Standards did not close the door to citizenship for these individuals, which showed our representatives commitment to our nations founding values.

Exactly one week after the GOP majority spelled out how they would support immigration reform in 2014, however, Speaker of the House John Boehner seemed to abruptly change his mind, telling the public that immigration reform would be difficult this year. We leaders of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths were extremely disappointed to hear this backpedalling on an issue that affects millions of people in our faith communities.

Few issues in our nations history have brought together such diverse faith groups, but Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders have united their voices across the nation in support of reform. After all, immigrants have played a vital role in the histories of our religions, and each of our faiths calls on us to welcome foreigners and treat strangers with love, compassion and justice.

We also share a belief in the God-given dignity of each individual, and we want our countrys immigration laws and policies to reflect that belief. Reforming our broken, outdated immigration system will help keep families united, contribute to the security of our communities, benefit our economy and demonstrate our compassion.

The journey of immigration reform legislation in Congress like the journey of many of the prophets and leaders in the Abrahamic faiths, and like the journey of the tens of millions of immigrants who have flocked to this land over the centuries will undoubtedly face challenges and uncertainty. We will not only pray but will work together with our elected officials to turn the temporary roadblock erected by Speaker Boehners comments on Thursday into a minor speed bump on our nations path to immigration reform.

We encourage Speaker Boehner and the rest of the GOP leadership to continue with their previous push to pass immigration reform. We encourage Illinois Republican Congressmen Davis, Hultgren, Kinzinger, Roskam, Schock and Shimkus to publicly support their partys Standards for Immigration Reform and call for a debate and vote on reform. We encourage our Democratic Representatives to work constructively with their Republican counterparts to advance this issue in a bipartisan manner. And we encourage religious leaders and people of faith to pray and advocate that our elected representatives will do what is best not for an individual political party, but for our country and all of the people that call it home.

To our elected officials: You have the support of our faith communities and the majority of American voters to pass immigration reform. We are praying that you do not waste it.

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Religious leaders call out GOP on immigration reform ...

Originally published: February 21, 2014 9:24 PM Updated: February 21, 2014 10:17 PM By VCTOR MANUEL RAMOS victor.ramos@newsday.com

Congressman Peter King (R-Seaford), left, joined Long Islanders from Make the Road New York and other allied organizations in Brentwood on Friday, Feb. 21, 2014 for a discussion about the prospects of passing immigration reform this year. (Credit: Danielle Finkelstein)

It was an evening of good news and bad news for nearly 150 immigrants and advocates who packed a forum on immigration reform last night with Rep. Peter King.

The Seaford Republican told the standing-room-only crowd in Brentwood that he remains committed to "legalization and a pathway to citizenship" in a package of measures to fix a broken immigration system.

But he also said there was "significant opposition in the Republican Party" to proposed reform principles that were recently issued. Reform may be possible, the congressman said, though "maybe not this year, I'll be honest with you on that."

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The political reality check landed with a thud for some, including Angel Atalaya, 59 and waiting 12 years for a chance to be a legal resident.

"I have waited a long time to come out of the shadows. I have even started my own business, and to hear 'Not right now' is very disappointing," Atalaya said. "It's all a political game."

Other advocates saw the progress report from King as a sign they at least have him on their side.

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BCC Multicultural Committee - Roots of Racism Causes. Immigration Reform Lecture - NB

By: Bristol Community College

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BCC Multicultural Committee - Roots of Racism Causes. Immigration Reform Lecture - NB - Video