OFA Chair on Immigration Reform: We're Going to 'Force It Through the House'

Barack Obama’s former campaign manager who now heads an advocacy group promoting the President’s policy initiatives said the group will try to pass comprehensive immigration reform in the House of Representatives.

“We are going to force it through the House,” said Jim Messina, the chairman of Organizing for Action, according to the Washington Post. “I will sit with you and cry when Barack Obama signs his name on that law and millions of people come out of the shadows.”

Volunteers for Organizing for Action, the latest iteration of Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign structure, gathered in Washington, D.C. to plan “Action August” in which the group will try to rally grassroots support for Obamacare and comprehensive immigration reform. Messina addressed the crowd along with Obama. 

The Senate passed a comprehensive immigration bill last month, but there has been stiff resistance to such a measure in the House.

As the Post notes, Organizing for Action has struggled since it formed earlier this year. It has only raised $13.1 million through June after announcing a goal of raising $50 million for the year. The August activities will also test the group’s grassroots strength. 

OFA generated embarrassing headlines when it only attracted eight people last month in Indiana and twenty in Tennessee for rallies in support of immigration reform. 

“Action August” activities will begin on August 4, which is Obama’s birthday, as House Members go back home for recess.