The Open Society Policy Center, the public policy organization established and funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, has retained Washington-based government relations firm NVG to advocate on behalf of an immigration reform bill currently making its way through Congress.
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OSPC works to influence U.S. government policies as they relate to civil rights, criminal justice reform, health policy, human rights and immigration matters. The organization was launched in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
OSPC has retained NVG to pitch support for H.R.2214 and S. 1123, the “NO BAN Act” (National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act), which would limit a U.S. President’s ability to restrict aliens from entering the country, as seen in the “travel ban” that President Trump introduced via Executive order in 2017.
The bill would expand provisions in the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion in the issuance of visas, along with current discrimination bans on the basis of race, sex, nationality, place of birth and place of residence. It would also revise an INA clause that currently allows the President to indefinitely bar people from entering the country if their entry is deemed “detrimental” to U.S. interests. Finally, it would also tighten the requirements needed for future travel restrictions or bans.
The NO BAN Act was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE).
A four-person team heads the account, including Joshua Hurvitz, who was previously legislative director to former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY); Eden Shiferaw, a former staffer to congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH); Irene Bueno, who was deputy assistant secretary at the HHS and a special assistant to President Clinton in the chief of staff’s office as well as the Domestic Policy Council; and Andrea LaRue, who served as counsel to former Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Other NVG clients include the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, the American Psychiatric Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Comcast NBCUniversal.
OSPC in 2018 experienced the greatest year-over-year spending gains lobbying group in Washington, according to a report released by the Center for Responsive Politics, spending $31 million, nearly double its 2017 expenditures of $16 million.
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