Mediaboss Marketing

The advocacy group linked to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is going after House Republicans with a new ad prodding them to act on immigration reform this year.

The 60-second spot called Do Nothing, released Monday, takes a notably tougher tone against the House GOP by putting blame on Republicans for stalling reform in Congress this year. The ad buy from the Council for American Job Growth, an affiliate of the Zuckerberg-backed FWD.us, totals about $500,000 and will run in all 50 states for two weeks, according to a person familiar with the buy.

No one debates we need to fix our broken immigration system. Republican leaders know it. Theyve even said so time and again, the ads narrator says. So why are House Republicans cooling, retreating and even privately saying theyd rather do nothing this year?

(PHOTOS: An immigration naturalization ceremony)

The ad argues that inaction on immigration reform puts jobs on ice and makes the country lose tax revenue that could be used to fund education and infrastructure projects. It also invokes so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the United States as children and are generally the most sympathetic group of undocumented immigrants.

Doing nothing on reform sends a message to millions of Dreamers who study hard and want to serve our country: They might as well dream on, the ads narrator says. The spot closes by urging viewers to call House Republicans and pressure them to pass immigration reform.

House Republican leaders unveiled a one-page list of principles for reform in January, but a rewrite of the nations immigration laws have largely been put on hold amid protests from conservatives about taking up the politically sensitive issue in an election year. GOP lawmakers also say their deep-rooted distrust of President Barack Obama makes them reticent about passing new immigration laws a reason that Democrats and other pro-reform advocates have largely dismissed as an excuse.

But leadership hasnt completely frozen the prospects of immigration reform. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who threw cold water on the prospects of an overhaul last month, told a forum in Piqua, Ohio, over the weekend that he was still committed to solving the issue.

I didnt suggest it was going to be easy, I know its going to be hard thats why its still hanging around, Boehner said then, according to a report from Civitas Media. So for the last 15 months, Ive been trying to move the ball down the field, only to be tackled by people that just dont want to deal with it.

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Facebook-linked group pushes GOP