Nilc Immigrant Justice Fund

ESTABLISHED IN 2013 AS THE 501(C)(4) AFFILIATE OF THE NATIONAL IMMIGRATION LAW CENTER (NILC), THE NILC IMMIGRANT JUSTICE FUND'S (IJF) MISSION IS FOCUSED ON BUILDING IMMIGRANT POWER AND ADVANCING EFFECTIVE AND FAIR IMMIGRATION POLICY THROUGH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNS. THE IJF RELIES ON ITS EXTENSIVE CONNECTIONS WITH ADVOCACY GROUPS NATIONWIDE, ADVOCACY EXPERIENCE, EXPERTISE ON ISSUES THAT AFFECT IMMIGRANTS' DAILY LIVES, AND DISTINCTIVE USE OF POLICY, LEGAL, AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES TO ENSURE THAT IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS ADVOCATES HAVE A POWERFUL IMPACT ON THE SHAPE AND NATURE OF IMMIGRATION REFORM POLICIES THAT COME UNDER CONSIDERATION IN CONGRESS AND IN STATES AND LOCALITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY: IJF ENGAGED IN SCENARIO PLANNING TO REFINE POST-ELECTION STRATEGIES, OUTLINING LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY PRIORITIES THAT THE ORGANIZATION COULD MOVE FORWARD BASED ON VARIOUS ELECTION RESULT SCENARIOS. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, IJF COORDINATED WITH ALLIES TO ADVOCATE FOR FEDERAL IMMIGRATION REFORMS THAT WOULD PROVIDE EXPANSIVE PATHWAYS TO CITIZENSHIP FOR THE ESTIMATED 11 MILLION UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN THE U.S. THIS INCLUDED ADVOCATING FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO PROPOSED BILLS TO REMOVE HARMFUL CRIMINALIZING PROVISIONS AND BARRIERS TO IMMIGRANTS' ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE AND THE SAFETY NET, EXECUTING TARGETED DIGITAL ADVOCACY EFFORTS, AND RAISING VISIBILITY OF IMPORTANT LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS.

2020 ELECTIONS PROJECT: THE NILC IMMIGRANT JUSTICE FUND (IJF) CONTINUED ITS WORK ON A GROUNDBREAKING PROJECT FOCUSED ON THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS CYCLE, PROVIDING TESTED, PRO-IMMIGRANT MESSAGES TO PERSUADABLE VOTERS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES, AS WELL AS TO POLITICAL CANDIDATES AND ELECTED OFFICIALS. USING THIS FOUNDATIONAL MESSAGING WORK, IJF ANALYZED PRIMARY CANDIDATES' IMMIGRATION POLICY PLATFORMS, PROVIDED FEEDBACK ON THEIR IMMIGRATION POLICY PLATFORMS, AND DEMONSTRATED TO ELECTED OFFICIALS THROUGHOUT ELECTION DEBATES THAT IMMIGRANTS ARE VALUABLE POLITICAL CONSTITUENCY, ESSENTIAL TO THE FUTURE STABILITY AND VITALITY OF THE COUNTRY. IJF DELIVERED MORE THAN 11.3 MILLION DIGITAL ADS WITH PRO-IMMIGRANT MESSAGES IN THREE PRIORITY STATES WISCONSIN, ARIZONA, AND NORTH CAROLINA REACHING OVER 130,000 VOTERS. THE 800+ VOLUNTEER IJF VOTE TEAM ALSO CONTACTED NEARLY 100,000 PERSUADABLE VOTERS IN THOSE TARGET STATES WITH PEER-TO-PEER TEXTS USING TESTED MESSAGES. IN WISCONSIN AND ARIZONA, THE NUMBER OF VOTERS IJF CONNECTED WITH WAS LARGER THAN THE FINAL MARGIN OF VICTORY FOR JOE BIDEN IN BOTH STATES.

BASED ON THE SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS OF THE IJF'S 2020 PROJECT, WHICH INCLUDED POLITICAL MESSAGING RESEARCH AND TARGETED VOTER OUTREACH, IJF DEDICATED ITS RESOURCES TO STRATEGIZING FOR THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS. THIS INCLUDED EXPLORING THE STATES IN WHICH TO EXECUTE ADDITIONAL CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES, EXPLORING VARIOUS NARRATIVES AND MESSAGING FRAMEWORKS FOR POLLING AND RESEARCH, AND ASSESSING THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE TO DETERMINE THE IJF'S 2022 TARGET STATES AND PRIORITIES.