TakeRoot’s Immigrants’ Rights team works to protect individuals from detention and deportation, keep families together, and build power in immigrant communities. In addition to assisting with a wide range of immigration cases, we also support the development of immigrant community defense networks, legislative advocacy efforts, immigrant tenant’s rights organizing and the fight against immigration fraud.

 

Position:

TakeRoot Justice seeks applicants for the position of Staff Attorney to join our Immigrants’ Rights team. The Immigrants’ Rights team works to strengthen the organizing work of TakeRoot’s community-based partners by (1) providing legal clinics and direct immigration representation to members of partner group, (2) providing community education and strategy support in line with organizing goals.

Responsibilities:

• Directly representing clients on a range of defensive and affirmative matters including SIJS, Asylum, VAWA, U/T visas, family-based petitions, SIJS and cancellation of removal, including representing individuals in immigration court, and family and federal district court;
• Developing and conducting community education presentations for partner organizations and their members, including sometimes on evenings and weekends;
• Supporting partner organizing groups’ members and campaigns through legislative advocacy, research, and action support; and
• Participating in TakeRoot’s self-governance structure, including collective staff decision-making, participation in governance circles or working groups, and assistance with grant reporting.

Qualifications:

• Be committed to economic and racial justice and the immigrant justice movement in New York City;
• Be passionate about working in partnership with community organizers, and about developing creative lawyering strategies to support immigrant organizing;
• Have a J.D. degree;
• Be admitted to the bar of any state in the U.S., with a preference for New York ;
• Have two to five years of immigration law or related experience (including pre-degree
• experience);
• Have fluency in a second language (Bengali, Haitian Creole, Nepali, or Spanish language strongly
• preferred);
• Have strong writing, analytical, and interpersonal skills;
• Be self-directed and enthusiastic about boundary-pushing immigration advocacy.

How to Apply:

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume and writing sample by e-mail only (no hard copies please) with the subject line “Immigrants’ Rights Staff Attorney” to nqurashi@takerootjustice.org, Attn: Nadia Qurashi. Applications should be submitted by September 3, 2021 and will be considered on a rolling basis.