Immigrant Justice Corp Fellow of Children's Legal Services

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Founded in 1933, the IRC is at work today in more than 40 countries and in 26 U.S. cities. The IRC’s Resettlement, Asylum and Integration (RAI) department creates opportunities for refugees and other vulnerable migrants to survive and thrive in the US. RAI serves nearly 50,000 individuals each year in the US through a diverse portfolio of programs aimed at achieving outcomes in five impact areas: Health, Safety, Economic Wellbeing, Education, and Power.

JOB OVERVIEW:

IRC seeks a Staff Attorney to join its Dallas Unaccompanied Children’s immigration team to provide legal services to unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and released in the community. The attorney will conduct legal relief eligibility determinations, meet with and advise child clients, and provide direct legal representation to children. Relief will include filing for special immigrant juvenile status, asylum, T Visas and U Visas, requiring the attorney to appear in Texas family court, Dallas immigration court, and before the Asylum office.

The Staff Attorney will bring a passion for this area of work and some experience with immigration legal services. Working closely with IRC Dallas leadership and immigration staff, as well as IRC’s HQ Immigration Technical Unit and a host of external partners, the Staff Attorney will assist with expanding this program area for IRC in Dallas. This position will report to the Supervising Attorney and may supervise a Legal Assistant and/or interns.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Conduct intakes with child clients, identify relief, and provide direct representation for unaccompanied children detained in ORR custody and released to sponsors in the Dallas Fort Worth area. - Handle moderate to heavy caseload of children’s cases before the immigration court and USCIS. - Initiate state court proceedings for children who are eligible for special immigrant juvenile status. - Coordinate closely within IRC’s multidisciplinary teams to identify needs and facilitate referrals to services offered in-house and through partnerships with external providers. - Ensure client and program data is collected consistently, managed appropriately, and reported accurately in accordance with program reporting requirements set by IRC. - Position may supervise legal assistants and/or interns. - Maintain up-to-date knowledge and expertise of changing asylum and immigration policies as they relate to children through regular trainings and peer-to-peer consultation. - Serve as a strong advocate for humanitarian immigrants.

JOB REQUIREMENTS:

- Law degree (JD or LLM) from an ABA-accredited U.S. institution and member in good standing of the Texas state bar; - Ideally at least one year experience providing direct representation in immigration court and/or before USCIS to asylum applicants and other immigrants seeking humanitarian relief; law school graduates with clinical legal experience may be considered; - Experience providing legal services to children and/or working with children preferred; - Excellent legal research, writing, analytical, and organizational skills; - Ability to communicate clearly and effectively, both orally in a courtroom setting and in writing; - Bilingual in Spanish/English; - Deep commitment to immigrant rights and working with humanitarian immigrants; - Trauma-informed and sensitive listening and communication skills; - Evidence of capacity to be a strong team member in a highly collaborative and fast-paced multidisciplinary environment; - Must be able and willing to travel frequently in and around the service area to attend hearings and interviews and engage with clients and community partners. - Must be willing to submit to an extensive background check, including FBI, state child welfare and sex offender registry checks

Working Environment:

- Standard office environment with occasional participation in community outreach and legal assistance events. - May require occasional weekend and/or evening work.

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity: IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances.

Professional Standards: The IRC and IRC staff must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Global Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti-Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Qualifications Update