Impact at CLIPI
Guttentag was also a CLIPI fellow and then staff attorney. From 1979 to 1983, he served as a staff attorney at CLIPI, where he engaged in civil rights class action and appellate litigation, focusing on employment discrimination, police practices, freedom of speech, and environmental protection. His work included active litigation in federal and state trial and appellate courts, including oral arguments in the California Supreme Court.
After his tenure at CLIPI, Guttentag went on to have a distinguished career in immigration law and policy. He founded and directed the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project from 1985 to 2011, leading it to become the nation’s premier litigation and advocacy program dedicated to advancing the constitutional and civil rights of immigrants. He has also served in senior policy positions in both the Obama and Biden administrations, including as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security and Senior Counselor for Immigration Policy to the Deputy Attorney General.
