Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) will travel to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-VA) backyard Wednesday to push for amnesty legislation just weeks before Cantor’s June 10 primary against Dave Brat.
According to Casa de Virginia, Gutierrez’s speech at the State Capitol in Richmond will “underscore the critical moment we face for immigration reform and the particularly important role” that Cantor “needs to play in reforming the system.” He will appear with Virginia Democrats like Delegates Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington), Delores McQuinn (D-Richmond), and Rosalyn Dance (D-Petersburg), along with Latino activists.
Gutierrez, whom the Latino advocacy group hailed as a “national Latino hero,” suggested last week that “every institution” in America ignore or work around the country’s immigration laws until Congress passes amnesty legislation. Activists are trying to put pressure on Cantor, who has wavered on his support for various pieces of amnesty legislation after conservatives in Cantor’s district ousted one of his top allies from a key Chairmanship earlier this month. Cantor supported the ENLIST Act before he was against it and then said he supported it again in “principle.”
Brat, Cantor’s opponent, has attacked the House Majority Leader for supporting various forms of amnesty for illegal immigrants.