ALLOWAY, N.J. — Republican Rep. Frank LoBiondo represents a South Jersey congressional district with a sizable Hispanic population, farmlands that employ migrant workers, an influential labor union presence and a constituency that voted twice for President Obama.
He's precisely the kind of GOP lawmaker immigration advocates said they would target over the August recess, when members of Congress return home for the longest stretch of the year.
But at a local Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting and a Rotary Club luncheon on Thursday, immigration was never mentioned.
The 10-term incumbent met with constituents in open forums where he fielded questions on the economy, the implementation of Obama's health care law, unrest in the Middle East and even how to improve local infrastructure to ease traffic to the Jersey shore.
"It's not coming up," LoBiondo said in interview. "It is a big issue nationally, but in this district it's just not something on people's minds."
It's not because advocates aren't trying. LoBiondo has not staked out any hard-line positions on immigration, and his is one of 17 congressional districts the House Democrats' campaign operation said they would target on immigration in August with "media tactics, messaging amplification and community outreach," according to a memo.
Last week, Organizing for Action, an outside political group promoting Obama's agenda, used its local New Jersey Twitter account in an effort to organize supporters to appear at a LoBiondo event in Cape May to show support for an immigration overhaul. Jason Galanes, LoBiondo's spokesman, notified event organizers and local police that protesters might be in attendance. It was not necessary. "No one showed up," Galanes said.
