Since our founding in 2019, NAA members have worked tirelessly to deepen our relationships with immigrant partners, educate and build power in Jewish and ally communities, take bold and direct action, and run strategic campaigns that result in concrete changes for our immigrant neighbors.

From 2019 to 2022, we took part in winning campaigns to push the GEO Group out of their office in LA, stop an ICE propaganda academy in Chicago, advocate successfully around dozens of individual deportation cases, and win drivers licenses for all undocumented immigrants in Massachusetts.

We believe that if we can support Jews and allies to build people, fight winnable campaigns, and take direct action, we can add capacity to a multi-racial, multi-status movement that can truly end detention and deportation.

In moments of limited resources, as we find ourselves in 2024, that means empowering members to be leaders in our movement, to make sure that the tools they need are easily available, strengthening routes for leaders to engage directly with each other, and supporting healthy movement culture.

2023 was a BIG year for Never Again Action!

-we ended seven 287(g) Police-ICE contracts in coalition with over 30 organizations

-we brought in 200 new members committed to this struggle for the long haul

-we gathered over 100 leaders and partners from across the country at our Migrant Solidarity Assembly

-hundreds of people took action to pressure Biden around Title 42 and against bartering away immigrant protections for military funding

-8 chapters advocated, disrupted and built power alongside local partners

-Through a series of conversations around Israel/Palestine, we joined many of our partners in both the immigrant rights movement and Jewish progressive in calling for a ceasefire.

Here are our key takeaways from the 2024 Strategy process:

In 2024, NAA staff will focus on empowering NAA chapters rather than carrying out a national campaign or hosting a national gathering. NAA national staff will take a step away from national rapid response actions and direct partner support/coalitions in order to provide our chapters with the deep organizing support needed for powerful wins in 2024.

Advice for Chapters:

-Solidarity Forever: Chapters should focus specifically on coalition and partner-led campaigns.

-Rapid Response: In anticipating a tumultuous year ahead, chapters should assess their capacity for supporting partners through rapid response direct actions.

-Inclusive Base-Building: Chapters should work with staff to model inclusive practices to create welcoming spaces with clear guidelines for participation. NAA is requesting that at least one leader per chapter attend a consent and harm reduction training and be accountable to improving access and modeling anti-racism within their chapter, with an ongoing goal to make interventions specific to each chapter assessment.

Political Education:

NAA intends to offer political and abolitionist solidarity education around the detention/deportation system. Our goals include:

1. Training: Organize at least 3 skillshare trainings this year

2. Resource-sharing: Compile resources and trainings, including codes of conduct, principles of solidarity, and cohesive strategic and tactical skills modules.

Leadership and Cross-Chapter Organizing:

1. Encourage members and partners to use the NAA national listserv to share needs and calls to action directly.

2. Create cross-chapter connections around teams and roles, such as Local Comms, Data and National Strategy Team to share questions, asks, advice and events directly.

3. We ask members to contribute to creating shared resources and skillshares as described in more detail above.

Each Never Again Chapter and Content team has shared their goals for the coming year with the intent of inviting members to participate with or support chapters in their work. Please contact symone@neveragainaction.com to get connected with this work, even if you not within the chapter region.

Texas: End Operation Lonestar

-Raise awareness about Operation Lone Star and specifically the bills SB 3 (1.5+ billion for border barriers) and SB 4 (making it a state crime to cross the border illegally) that are taking effect in March, especially in the institutional Jewish community in Austin.

-Support Border Network for Human Rights rally in Austin

-Work with the Fuera Abbott Coalition to generally discredit Abbott and highlight his failures and cruelty.

Nashville: Language Access

-Continue language access campaign for drivers licenses and defeat an English-only bill

-Get 3-5 more people involved in the chapter

-Build community relationships leading into elections.

Wisconsin: End 287(g)

-Eliminate 287(g) Police-ICE contract in Waukesha County

-Educate and expand chapter base through social events

Boston: Shut Down Plymouth

-Work with Shut Down Plymouth coalition to advocate for folks inside Plymouth County Correctional Facility, help run a hotline for immigrants detained there, and ultimately, close the facility.

-Focus on community building, expanding our group to do more powerful actions in the future.

Rhode Island: White Rose Newsletter

-Continue publishing a biweekly newsletter sharing local anti-fascist news, events, and educational opportunities.

-Strengthen relationships with the local organizations whose events we promote and with our readership in order to expand readership and support readers in engaging and taking action to support local efforts, including legislative efforts to end ICE contracts in RI.

Chicago: Migrant Relief

-Organize events to raise funds for migrant relief efforts during Hanukkah, Purim, and Passover.

-Plan an immigration education tour of suburban Chicago.

DC: Deepening Partnerships

-Deepen partnerships with immigration rights coalitions/local groups

-Build core membership and capacity for mobilization.

-Develop new activism skills, especially to directly confront policy makers.

-Support other chapters who’d be helped by having a presence in DC.

Memphis: Jewish Action

-Support the TN Our States Our Languages campaign to ensure equitable access for driver’s licenses

-Expand outreach and develop political consciousness through events like our Books & Bagels Jewish Action Reading Circle and Liberation Seder.

Content Team: Bringing it all Together

-Write a weekly newsletter, in addition to contributing to other emails and social media communications.

-React in the moment to what is happening electorally, using google alerts or other news alerts and effective group communication to respond in the moment.

-Coordinate directly with chapter comms leaders to support their local messaging and uplift theirs and their partners’ work.

Chapter & Local Partner Focus

-Establish Local Comms representatives from each chapter to build skills and comms strategy across chapters and with the National Content Team.

-Cohesive Narrative: The National Content Team and Local Chapter communications should reflect the following whenever possible:

1. Provide positive alternatives to right-wing frameworks in discussing immigration, reject dehumanizing, criminalizing language, and center personal stories

2. Uplift the work of partners and chapters.

3. Draw connections between the larger abolitionist and racial justice movements, police violence, climate change and histories of settler-colonialism and U.S. foreign intervention.

4. Use language intended to educate, open minds and welcome all of our audiences to continue expanding our understanding of the roots of oppression.

5. Embrace Jewish values and our connection to U.S. immigration through our personal histories.

Member Engagement

Our goal is to see at least 50% of membership take action in some way in 2024, through the following pathways. Please share with us in the form below how you’d like to get involved!

1. Support local campaigns: through joining a chapter or supporting remotely.

2. Join a national team: We need folks in Content Team, Culture Team, contributing data support, research, phone banking, virtual actions, fundraising and outreach.

3. Trainings: Attend, facilitate or hold a tech, access or planning role to contribute to our shared learning.

4. Contribute ideas: Ratify this document in the form below! Respond to surveys throughout the year. Submit movement-wide proposals to NST. Self-organize actions, events and conversations through the national list-serv email.

Structure/Staff goals

In a time of reduced staffing and limited resources, NAA staff will prioritize embodying our movement principles of creating a healthy culture with ample space for internal reflection, leadership coaching and a sustainable growth model:

1. Financial Sustainability and Development: Hire 1 Organizational Director, 1 part-time Fundraising Consultant and 1 part-time Social Media Manager with a focus on eventually bringing on full-time Comms and Development staff.

2. Transparency: Organize a National Call in February 2024 to discuss transparency around budgeting and organizational structure.

3. Leader Autonomy: Create pathways for autonomous cross-chapter organizing including a public events calendar, sharing volunteer opportunities, national skillshares, and making skills- and culture-based resource documents accessible to members.

4. Membership Growth: Double NAA membership to include at least 50% of our current base of leaders as official members.