Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is in Washington this week lobbying lawmakers in the House and Senate for immigration reform, says he's "optimistic" that a 2013 immigration bill will pass.
In an interview with The Atlantic Wednesday, the 29-year-old billionaire stressed that immigration is a key reason why he decided to visit the nation's capital after.
"The purpose of this trip is largely for immigration and not for Facebook," he said. Although prospects for passing legislation in the House have dimmed, Zuckerberg expressed hope that it will still get done. "You don't try to build something crazy if you're not optimistic about the world."
He also acknowledged that a political group he founded to support immigration, called Fwd.us, has hit some snags.
"There's been a lot to debug in terms of making this work," said Zuckerberg, dressed in his signature gray t-shirt, zipped up dark gray hoodie and blue jeans.
Progessives slammed the group after it launched ads intending to give Republicans who supported immigration reform political cover by praising them for their opposition to President Obama's health care law or supporting the expansion of the Keystone XL pipeline, reports ABC News.
Liberal organizations like Moveon.org and Progressives United participated in a boycott of ads on Facebook and called the strategy "counterproductive."
Though he and his organization are pushing for immigration reform, Zuckerberg wouldn't answer most questions that could hint at his political leanings.
"It's hard to affiliate as either a Democrat or a Republican. I'm pro-knowledge economy," Zuckerberg said.