OVERVIEW

Since its inception, the ACLU has maintained a commitment to protecting and promoting the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants and their families. The ACLU has been at the forefront of almost every major recent struggle on behalf of immigrants’ rights, engaging in a diverse range of strategies including advocacy, organizing, litigation, and public education.

Laws inspired by Arizona's SB 1070 invite racial profiling against Latinos, Asian-Americans, and others presumed to be "foreign" based on how they look or sound. They also authorize police to demand papers proving citizenship or immigration status from anyone they stop and suspect of being in the country unlawfully. Through an integrated team including advocacy staff, litigators, communications specialists, federal lobbyists, and ACLU affiliates, the ACLU leads the multi-pronged efforts to defeat misdirected anti-immigrant laws.

Reporting to the Director of Advocacy and Policy, the Advocacy and Policy Strategist will focus on working with ACLU affiliates, state partners, and national allies to aggressively battle state and local attempts to pass anti-immigrant legislation, as well as to push for positive measures that protect immigrants from discrimination and assist their efforts to integrate into civic life. The Strategist will work with affiliates to design multi-faceted advocacy campaigns, focusing on strategic alliance formation, public engagement, coalition building, and mobilization of supporters and allies to advance immigrants rights. The Strategist will bring a creative organizing and strategic advocacy planning perspective to an interdisciplinary team.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide strategic advice and counsel to ACLU affiliates to assist their state-based advocacy, including goal setting, coalition building, community organizing, and decision-maker engagement, in the furtherance of public policy outcomes.
• Determine and execute nationwide state-based advocacy strategies to achieve public policy goals, including developing campaign objectives and strategies.
• Develop and assist affiliates in carrying forth strategic alliance building efforts with police, businesses, faith-based groups, labor, and other key allies.
• Monitor state policy activity, including legislation, relevant to immigrants’ rights.
• Draft policy analyses designed to effect change by state policymakers.
• Develop and produce advocacy tools for ACLU affiliates to assist their state-based advocacy.
• Develop affiliates’ expertise in immigrants’ rights and other key civil liberties issues.
• Coordinate ACLU affiliates’ participation in the National Office’s federal advocacy campaigns.
• Assist in the administration of grants awarded by the National Office to affiliates.
• Participate in national coalitions and develop relationships with allies and other organizations to further advocacy goals.
• Oversee staff as needed.
• Speak publicly at national, state, and local forums, conferences and meetings.