NGO Advocacy and Immigration Policy Reform in San Diego

Authors

Benicio Benavides-Garb, Cal Poly HumboldtFollow

Theme

Theme 2: Institutions, Structures and Power

Abstract

The field of immigrant policy is a highly contested space, and among the primary actors involved in immigrant advocacy are non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Throughout California, NGOs are involved at the local, state, national, and international levels. In addition to introducing some of the directions being taken by NGOs in the San Diego area, this paper will examine the work of the San Diego City Council. The included NGOs were selected based on their intentional work in providing “systems-level” support, such as progressive immigration policy reform and advocacy. These organizations are the following: the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA), the Border Angels, the California Immigrant Policy Center (CIPC), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of San Diego and Imperial Counties, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). The subsequent analysis of the strategies utilized by the aforementioned groups to achieve shifts in immigration policy resulted in the identification of overlapping trends in methods used to achieve policy-focused goals. Three of these methods include coalition building, leadership development, and lobbying. Future uses for the synthesis provided by this work include informing future policymakers interested in progressive immigration policy reform at the local and national levels.

Recommended Citation

Benavides-Garb, Benicio (2024) "NGO Advocacy and Immigration Policy Reform in San Diego," csuglobaljournal: Vol. 2, Article 2.
DOI: [https://doi.org/]10.55671/2837-0619.1023
Available at: https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/csuglobaljournal/vol2/iss1/2