Join to apply for the Staff Attorney, Detained Adult Program role at Amica Center for Immigrant Rights .
Who We Are
The Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition is now Amica Center for Immigrant Rights (“Amica Center” for short). Click here to learn more about our new name. Since our founding in 1999, we have grown significantly and added new services to support immigrants in detention. Recently, Amica Center has outgrown our name, expanding beyond our initial services and geographic boundaries.
Description
“Amica” is the Latin word for “friend,” and that echoes the way we approach what we do. Just as friends stand with one another, Amica Center stands with our clients to achieve the safety, stability, and opportunity we all deserve. We are the only non‑profit organization in the Washington, D.C. area that is exclusively focused on providing legal assistance to adult and child immigrants detained by the government in the Capital Region and beyond.
Our Work Environment
The Detained Adult Program (DAP) works with hundreds of adults who are detained by ICE each year, providing information, support, and legal representation. We provide trauma‑sensitive, person‑centered services, and deeply value the autonomy of the people we work with in detention as they navigate the fundamentally inhumane immigration system. Amica Center’s Detained Adult Program is a highly collaborative work environment. Each team lead works directly with a focused team, but all colleagues are interconnected through, for example, case workshops or staff‑run committees. DAP staff is a source of expertise in the highly complex and ever‑changing immigration system. They have persisted through administration changes, policy shifts, and attacks on the rights and freedoms of immigrants through project‑focused cohorts that arise to address challenges or to brainstorm and implement affirmative strategies.
Position Summary
A Staff Attorney in the Detained Adult Program focuses on: (i) screening individuals for program eligibility and immigration relief, (ii) managing a caseload of direct legal services to immigrant adults held in facilities in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere outside the DMV region, (iii) maintaining client and stakeholder information up to date in the organization’s database, (iv) advocating with stakeholders and community representatives for program and clients, and (v) the mentoring of pro bono attorneys. This project provides legal representation to detained immigrants regardless of their criminal history and immigration procedural postures.
General Duties and Responsibilities
Representation
- Manage a caseload of in‑house direct legal representation of detained clients in removal proceedings mainly before the Annandale, Baltimore, Elizabeth and Sterling Immigration Courts and other courts as needed. This includes representation in cases such as Asylum, Withholding of Removal, Protection under the Convention against Torture, Board of Immigration Appeals, U‑Visas, T‑Visas, and Cancellation of Removal. Provide expert mentoring to outside pro bono attorneys representing detained immigrants on a pro bono basis.
- Prepare Post Release Plans and social service plans, in coordination with social services staff.
- Research, engage, and prepare experts on health, behavioral health, and country conditions.
Detention Facility Services
- Conduct government detention center visits as needed to prepare clients for their immigration hearings.
- Conduct individual intakes with immigrants at the detention facilities or remotely as necessary. Provide necessary follow‑up after intakes to evaluate program eligibility and eligibility for relief, including performing research, securing criminal/juvenile delinquency records and obtaining additional information from family and community members.
Organizational Services
- Ensure the inputting and accuracy of data and case information into shared databases in a timely fashion.
- Assist other program staff in completion of their workload during high‑work/low‑bandwidth periods.
- Take part in stakeholder relationship activities, including in‑person and telephonic meetings with community groups, governmental bodies and representatives, and other legal service providers.
- Engage with internal Amica Center committees and working groups to lend a voice to the growth and strategy of the organization if so desired.
- Undertake own administrative functions, including casework (e.g., preparation of all aspects of filings). Amica Center attorneys do not have dedicated paralegals for assistance on cases and non‑attorney staff time is dedicated to client‑facing tasks (e.g., jail visits).
- Coordinate with all internal DAP Programs to ensure all programs are kept abreast of developments and clients.
(1) This list is illustrative and not intended to be a complete classification of all job functions or tasks.
Additional Role‑Specific Details
- Position Type: Full‑time, Exempt
- Reports To: Senior Attorney
- Supervisory Responsibility: This position does not include primary supervision of other staff; however, it may involve temporary supervision of paralegals or interns depending on case‑specific needs.
- Hiring Timeline: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
- Salary: $61,500 to $69,700
- Location and/or Travel Requirements: This position will be based at the Washington, D.C. or Baltimore, M.D. Office. Due to business related travel expectations, it is recommended candidates live within 30‑miles of their assigned primary office.
- Telework: Amica Center operates a hybrid work environment. Most staff are required to work at least one day per week in‑office, but some roles require more office/on‑site attendance or travel.
- COVID‑19 Vaccination: All employees are required to be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID‑19. To be fully vaccinated means having completed the full dosages required for the type of vaccine obtained as designated by the CDC. If boosters are subsequently recommended by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) then employees will be required to receive the booster within thirty (30) days of their eligibility to access the boosters.
Benefits
- Free gym access located in Washington, D.C (dependent on employee’s primary office)
- Flexible working hours after successful completion of trainings and with approval of supervisor
- Pre‑tax commuter benefits for those living in the DMV
- Subsidized health, dental insurance, and vision insurance (Amica Center pays a very high rate of the insurance package, for which we can provide additional information)
- Life Insurance valued at $50,000, as well as long‑ and short‑term disability
- The option to set up a Flexible Spending Account
- High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a one‑time employer contribution of $350 to the Health Savings Account (HSA)
Paid Time Off Included
- 23 personal days per calendar year
- Up to 20 days of sick time per calendar year
- 7 hours of volunteer time off
- Federal holidays
- Winter break closure
- 12 weeks of parental leave
Competencies Required
Legal Proficiency - The Staff Attorney demonstrates a developing understanding of legal concepts at a level that allows them to provide services to clients with moderate supervision. The Staff Attorney clearly and skillfully employs the law in written and oral presentations with limited supervision and input from supervisors. The Staff Attorney contributes substantively to case assessment discussions. The Staff Attorney is working towards self‑sufficiency in client hearings, interviews, and legal research and writing.
Client and Programmatic Proficiency - The Staff Attorney satisfactorily handles all required in‑jail and in‑office programmatic obligations (intake, follow‑up, case summaries, case development, etc.) with limited supervision. The Staff Attorney manages their in‑house and pro bono mentoring caseload to allow for proper prioritization and thoughtful use of time and resources.
Administrative - The Staff Attorney ensures that all administrative aspects of their position, attendant to the provision of services to clients, are carried out without managerial intervention, including timekeeping, file upkeep, database upkeep, etc.
Qualifications Required
- JD and 0–3 years of relevant experience with at least one year of immigration law preferred.
- Must be licensed to practice law and in good standing with a state bar.
- Written and oral Spanish proficiency required, fluency preferred.
- Ability to manage a docket of detained removal defense cases.
- Strong trial advocacy skills preferred.
The candidate must possess a valid driver’s license and be comfortable operating a vehicle upon hiring. This role requires travel, but qualified individuals with disabilities may be accommodated in a reasonable manner under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
EEO Statement
Amica Center for Immigrants’ Rights is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with anti‑discrimination law, this policy's purpose is to effectuate these principles and mandates. Amica Center prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Amica Center conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.
Anti‑Racism Statement
How To Apply
Submit your resume, a cover letter that explains your interest in this role, and a writing sample with your Paylocity application. Please refrain from sending application materials separately via email.
Seniority Level
Entry level
Employment Type
Full‑time
Job Function
Legal
Industries
Legal Services
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