Evangelicals push GOP on reform

As House Republicans open their annual retreat, immigration reform advocates are making sure lawmakers get the message: Pass an overhaul this year.

The Evangelical Immigration Table is launching a new round of pro-reform ads later Thursday that will run on conservative news sites run by Salem Communications, such as RedState.com, Human Events and Townhall.com. The buy is in the low five figures and the ads will run for roughly a week, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.

“Hopefully, it encourages the many members who are serious about immigration reform that evangelicals will stand behind them when they take the steps necessary to move the process forward,” Galen Carey, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, said in an interview Thursday. “We’ve been working on this for a long time.”

The ads read simply: “Praying for Congress. Praying for Immigration reform.” They are part of a broader reform push from the evangelical group that includes a nationwide grass-roots lobbying effort and ad buys — including a full-page advertisement in USA Today earlier this week.

The person familiar with the plans from the Evangelical Immigration Table — a pro-reform coalition of evangelical groups — said the organization has spent more than $1 million on the overall effort.

Immigration reform will be a top item on the agenda at the annual House Republican retreat in Cambridge, Md., where the leadership’s so-called principles on how an overhaul should be shaped are expected to be released.