Rep. McCarthy: Amnesty Proponents’ Aggressive Tactics Counterproductive
Open-border advocates are waging an aggressive, non-stop campaign to convince House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy to support a comprehensive amnesty. But their tactics are backfiring, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As the third-ranking Republican in the House, Mr. McCarthy is in a position to sway his majority caucus. Amnesty advocates, including the United Farm Workers union and Service Employees International Union, selected Rep. McCarthy as a top target because of his influence and the nature of his district, which is dominated by large corporate farms that rely on immigrant labor – both legal and illegal. The advocates chose to mount an aggressive campaign and often brought in people from outside Rep. McCarthy’s district to bump up the number of protestors.
The open-border advocates staged a series of protests outside his district office during June and July. In October, they delivered thousands of postcards and letters to his office. On November, 13 women occupied his district office and refused to leave. And in December, advocates held an 11-day campaign at the office.
Mr. McCarthy told the Wall Street Journal that advocates also protested at his house and stalked him at the grocery store. "I can't go anywhere in the community without being protested. I don't see how that is productive." Mr. McCarthy said that the protests were so loud at his district office that it was impossible for his staff to work. Fearful of a confrontation, Mr. McCarthy's staff often kept the doors locked, turned the lights off and hid under their desks.
The campaign provoked a response from pro-immigration enforcement groups and Tea Party groups, albeit one that used more civil tactics. The groups requested a series of meetings between constituents and Rep. McCathy’s staff and held quiet counter-protests near the raucous pro-illegal alien events. "We would go out there with our own signs saying we did not support amnesty for illegal behavior," said Alfred Hernandez, administrator of the Bakersfield Tea Party. The group Californians for Population Stabilization also aired an ad to educate Mr. McCarthy’s constituents on how a comprehensive amnesty would allow foreign workers to take American jobs.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the aggressive tactics used by amnesty advocate appear to have backfired. In an interview, Mr. McCarthy said, "If they continue their tactics, it's less likely they're helpful in solving the problem. They are less likely to have my ear." He also reportedly told a number of people that he is now less inclined to support a comprehensive amnesty. Thus far, Mr. McCarthy has not used his leadership position to push for the quick passage of immigration bills in the House.
Illegal-alien advocates have used similar tactics with other Republican leaders. That may eventually yield a similar response. For example, in mid-November, 60 activists poured into the lobby of Majority Leader Eric Cantor's condominium complex and shouted chants. They also held a protest in front of Speaker John Boehner’s Washington, D.C. home and confronted him while he ate breakfast in his favorite local diner.
Speaker Boehner said he is still committed enacting immigration reform in a piecemeal approach during this Congress, but none of the advocates’ efforts have created any momentum for passage in the House so far. They have gone on hunger strikes around the country, staged protests at the district offices of House Republicans they see as being persuadable, and brought in corporate CEOs and religious leaders to lobby in Washington, D.C. Now as 2013 ends without any progress, the illegal-alien advocates have to consider whether they have poisoned the well for 2014 as well.
If you have a Wall Street Journal subscription, see more here.