Immigration Reform News 2015: G.O.P. Bid to Stop Funding for Obama's Immigration Programs Slammed

Immigration activists reportedly held protest rallies in the Capitol Hill offices of 35 "hard-line" Republican lawmakers on Thursday, blasting them for their "ceaseless attacks on hardworking immigrant families."

The protesters blasted the 35 House and Senate members for voting "to put five million Dreamers and immigrant parents at risk of deportation since the new Republican-led Congress began 36 days ago."

They were referring to the Department of Homeland Security funding bill which provides funding for President Obama's immigration programs.

However, Republican senators failed to get the required 60 votes to freeze the bill.

In a statement, the group called Alliance for Citizenship pilloried the Republicans, saying that since they took charge of both the House and Senate, "their only attempt to govern has been to hold multiple votes attacking immigrant families and to repeal the President's immigration action."

As part of the protest action, a group calling itself Aloha Dream Team trooped to the offices of Republican Senators Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Ted Cruz of Texas.

"Taking over Jeff Sessions office to tell him we WON'T stand for his attacks on our immigrant families! #GOPMoveOver," posted the group on Twitter along with a photo.

The protesters were apparently compelled to leave as the group posted on Facebook: "We got kicked out after 15 minutes! ‪#ADTxDC #GOPmoveover #immigrantaction."

CADA de Maryland, another immigrant group, also joined the protest, with its president Gustavo Torres issuing a warning on G.O.P. politicians running for office next year. "When our children vote in 2016 they will not forget the party that sought to destroy their parents," he said.

Rev. Noel Andersen of the Church World Service was among those who went to Capitol Hill to join the protesters.

"We are inside Sen. Mitch McConnell's office to tell him that the faith community and immigrants stand side-by-side in our nation," said Andersen.

Ruth Lopez of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights warned Senator Mark Kirk to "be careful of voting with the extreme anti-immigrant wing in his party."

"The 2012 Deferred Action program for Dreamers has helped 35,000 immigrant youth in Illinois, and the new programs for immigrant workers and parents will help tens of thousands more in our state, yet Sen. Kirk keeps voting against our families. Does he know how vital immigrant workers are to our economy in Illinois? He better learn if he wants to get re-elected next year," she said.

The Alliance said congressional offices occupied by immigration activists were those of Sen. Mark Kirk, Sen. Rand Paul, Rep. Lou Barletta, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Rep. Barbara Comstock, Rep. David Brat, Rep. Martha Roby, Rep. Ted Yoho, Speaker John Boehner, Rep. Scott Perry, Rep. Raul Labrador, Rep. Andy Harris, Rep. Greg Walden, Rep. Steve King, Rep. Louie Gohmert, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. Steve Scalise, Rep. Lamar Smith, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. Rob Wittman, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Rob Portman, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. John Cornyn, Rep. Michael McCaul, Rep. Trey Gowdy, Rep. John Carter, Sen. John Hoeven, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Sessions and Sen. Cruz.