Strategies for communications and media advocacy

Campaigns can use the messaging techniques presented in this module and in the following list as part of various strategies to generate media coverage.

  • Draft brief talking points for lawmakers and allies.[]As an example, see New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, “Criminal Convictions Screening – Bad in Policy and Bad Practice: Talking Points,” 2018, https://perma.cc/R32J-EPCT.
  • Write op-eds making the case for universal representation and place them in publications (in print or online) that may influence key stakeholders.
  • Create or share short videos featuring directly impacted immigrant community members.
  • Host press conferences featuring a variety of stakeholders.
  • Use social media tools such as creating Twitter campaigns, a “tweetstorm,” or Facebook Live events.
  • Develop fact sheets or share existing resources that lay out the problem and show how universal representation is one key solution.[]As examples, see Support Universal Representation: SAFE Network 101 (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2020), www.vera.org/safe-network-101; and the Boston Immigrant Justice Initiative fact sheet “An Overview of the Problem and How We Can Solve It Together,” 2016, https://hub.winninginthestates.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/IJI-pilot-fact-sheet-ecoonomic-impact-without-raw-data-citations_Nov-2016.docx.
  • Organize sign-on letters directed at policymakers.[]As an example, see a coalition letter to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, January 26, 2018, https://perma.cc/2Q3P-XMXH.
  • Generate action alerts and call-in days targeting key decision makers.
  • Seek more resources to maximize the effectiveness of the campaign’s media advocacy.

Organizations such as The Opportunity Agenda and the FrameWorks Institute provide evidence-based resources for those looking to bring about social change concerning immigration, racial justice, and other related issues.[]For a more detailed discussion about many of the issues raised in this chapter, see The Opportunity Agenda, Vision, Values, and Voice: A Communication Toolkit (New York: The Opportunity Agenda, 2019), https://perma.cc/T229-SBV3.