Online campaign aimed at eight Democratic senators

Immigration is a hot topic in national politics this week and ads are beginning to circulate in Ohio targeting an elected official on the issue.

The group Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR) is running online ads asking voters to call senators on the issue.

The ads are aimed at Democratic senators who are running for re-election in 2018 in states Donald Trump carried in last year’s presidential election.

Ohio’s Sherrod Brown is among the targets, as are Heidi Heitkamp, of North Dakota, Bill Nelson, of Florida, Bob Casey, of Pennsylvania, Claire McCaskill, of Missouri, Joe Donnelly, of Alaska, Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, and Jon Tester, of Montana.

The ads, which run online in various locations, such as preceding videos on Youtube and Vimeo, are identical in content, other than the name and photo of the senator switched out from state to state.

The ads center around the issue of a wall on the border of the United States and Mexico, one of the key promises of Trump’s campaign.

The narrator of the ad states, “President Trump promised to build a wall on the southern border. Ohio’s Sherrod Brown says he doesn’t want to fund the wall.”

While showing still photos of immigration officers and a highway sign warning of immigrants, the narrator says, “America needs a wall for our security and safety. A wall to stop illegal immigration. Tell Sherrod Brown it’s time to fund the wall.”

During his run for the presidency, Trump pledged to build the wall “and make Mexico pay for it.”

The Mexican government has said it will not pay for the wall “under any circumstances,” according to a statement released last month by its foreign ministry.

Since his administration began, Trump has said Congress should fund the wall and have Mexico reimburse U.S. taxpayers.

The House, under Republican control, has approved a spending package with $1.6 billion in funds for the wall, but no funding has been approved by the Senate, where Democrats are in the minority, have pledged to block such an effort.

David Ray, the director of communications for FAIR, said the ads are running exclusively online for now. He said the group would not be disclosing details of the planned ad campaign.

He said the group is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity organization, focused on immigration reform, and are “precluded from endorsing candidates or being directly involved in political campaigns.”

“We’re running issue-based ads that are tied directly to our policy agenda for the 115th Congress,” Ray said. “Clearly, focusing on the wall is important component of regaining control of illegal immigration as well as being a centerpiece of President Trump’s presidential campaign. We hope to bring pressure on those who can make a difference to do the right thing for the American people and regain control of our immigration policies.”

When reached for comment, Preston Maddock, the communications director for Brown’s campaign, took issue with the content of the ad and provided sources on Brown’s position on the border, such as a Congressional Quarterly article detailing his vote for the 2013 immigration reform bill, which he said implemented new border security measures, such as 700 miles of fencing on the southern border, $42.5 billion for additional border control agents nationwide use of the E-verify system and a biometric exit-entry system at airports and seaports.

The bill would have created an incremental path to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants in the country and supporters said it would allocate green cards on a merit-based system.

Brown called the idea of a border wall “ludicrous” on an Aug. 27 Meet the Press appearance, and Maddock pointed to several articles that said it would have little impact on immigration.
Maddock also cited the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy group specializing in civil rights, which has included FAIR on its list of “hate groups.” SPLC has said FAIR leaders have ties to eugenicists and white supremacist groups and have made “virulent and false” attacks on immigrants. SPLC also quotes John Tanton, FAIR’s founder, who has stated the need for a “European-American majority.”

Conservative critics of SPLC have taken issue with some its designations for hate groups, such as U.S. Secretary of Housing Ben Carson, who successfully lobbied in 2014 to have his name removed from the group’s list of extremists.

SPLC has stood by the majority of its listings.

Brown, who was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, is seeking a third term in 2018. He is expected to face Ohio’s Republican treasurer, Josh Mandel, who he defeated in 2012, in the general election.