The No More Deaths abuse documentation working group invites applications for the following stipended position. Please submit the application online before the deadline. After you submit your application you may be asked to send a resume by email.

Application deadline

January 18, 2015

Term of service

February 1, 2015–July 31, 2015, with possibility of extension

Description

Since 2006, documentation of the violations of migrants’ human rights committed by Border Patrol and other agents of the US government has been part of No More Deaths’s work in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

In September 2011, No More Deaths released the groundbreaking report A Culture of Cruelty: Abuse and Impunity in Short-Term Border Patrol Custody and brought national attention to the need for clearer standards and more transparency in Border Patrol’s treatment of people in their custody.

On December 10, 2014, No More Deaths released Shakedown: How Deportation Robs Immigrants of Their Money and Belongings. The report details abuses related to deportations in which ICE, Border Patrol, and private prisons fail to return belongings and money to individuals held in their custody. It is based on survey data collected in Nogales in 2013 and 2014, four years of accumulated data from No More Deaths Property Recovery Assistance Project, as well as public documents from ICE and prison facilities. By publishing the report and bringing this issue to light we hope to demonstrate the massive scale of dispossession taking place, expose who is benefiting and the harmful effects of this practice, and advocate for immediate changes to ensure that every person held in immigration custody receives their belongings and money promptly upon release.

Abuse-documentation work is conducted by an all-volunteer working group, and the coordinator will be supported by and collaborate with all members of the group. The coordinator will be responsible, as time permits, for (1) organizing advocacy to follow-up the report’s release, (2) coordinating with allies and partner organizations, (3) direct documentation, and (4) working group support.

Responsibilities

Organizing and advocacy:

• Work with the abuse documentation working group to develop an organizing campaign around the issue of failure to return money and belongings as part of the report roll-out strategy
• Communicate and build collaboration with other local and national organizations working to fight Border Patrol abuses (LAWG, ACLU, etc.)
• Work with the media team on outreach to press to promote the release of the report and its recommendations
• Work with the working group to create online “urgent actions” and other advocacy tools to fight against the failure to return money and belongings, and other migrant justice issues
• Arrange meetings with both ally organizations and targets for advocacy

Documentation:

• Participate in conducting documentation efforts in Nogales, as available
• Work with the group to maintain the online database system and forms for abuse documentation
• Monitor to ensure that all documentation taken is being entered into the system correctly

Working group support:

• Prepare agendas and facilitate abuse documentation working group meetings, or ensure that someone else is doing so for each meeting
• Check in regularly with volunteers conducting documentation in Nogales about progress and issues
• Ensure that regular communication occurs between the abuse documentation working group and the No More Deaths Monday night meeting

Contract conditions

• $1,200/month at full time; $900/month for 30 hours, $600/month for 20 hours
• In addition to the stipend, the coordinator will be eligible for a NMD phone, and reimbursement of travel expenses

Thanks for your interest in this position!