Zuckerberg’s new lobbying group hires outside help

The new hires come as a bipartisan group of senators is hammering out a comprehensive immigration reform bill that is expected to be released next month. A separate group in the House is also readying a proposal that would overhaul the country’s immigration laws.

Joe Green, founder of Causes.com and Zuckerberg’s former college roommate, is spearheading the lobbying group, which will include other executive donors from the tech world and prominent Washington political consultants. The new venture has also enlisted the help of New York creative agency SS+K, which worked on advertising efforts for President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and other administration initiatives

The hiring of the outside lobbying firms was first reported by Politico.

The new lobbying organization will be set up as a 501(c)(4), which critics often refer to as “dark money” because they are not required to disclose their donors. A group of Washington political consultants has signed on to launch the new group, including Joe Lockhart, senior adviser and co-founder of the Glover Park Group; Republican consultant Jon Lerner; and Rob Jesmer, a partner at public affairs firm FP1 Strategies and former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.