Crossroads GPS pushes Congress to pass immigration overhaul in web video

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Crossroads GPS, the nonprofit co-founded by Karl Rove that backs GOP candidates, has released an online video to push Congress to pass immigration reform as the Senate moves closer to a final vote on the overhaul.

The 30-second spot appears ready for TV but a spokesman for the group, Jonathan Collegio, wrote in an email that it is a "targeted Internet buy for now." It comes in addition to a $100,000 print ad campaign that the group launched last week.

The ad says millions are living in "de facto amnesty" because "Washington does nothing." It goes on to say that "our borders and workers aren't fully protected." The ad also makes the case that "America is losing the global race for talent" while showing an Asian man in a suit working on computer servers. That argument echoes the one made by Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Google, which have successfully lobbied for an increase in the number high-tech visas given to foreign workers, a measure that is included in the Senate legislation.

While the ad is about immigration, it does get in a shot at a politician that Crossroads GPS spent $15 million trying to defeat in 2012. At the end of the spot, the announcer ominously warns that if Congress doesn't act, only President Obama will get to make the decisions about America's immigration system. Viewers are then prompted to call Congress. 

The ad popped up on Ad Hawk, Sunlight's tool for tracking political ads.