Position:

TakeRoot’s Immigrants’ Rights team works in conjunction with community-based organizations to protect individuals from detention and deportation, keep families together, and build power in immigrant communities. They work alongside our partners to provide their staff and membership with direct representation on affirmative and defensive immigration cases. Additionally, they provide community education and strategy support on many issues including immigrant community defense networks, immigrant tenants’ and workers’ rights organizing, and the push for more humane immigration policies.

 

Responsibilities:

• Direct representation of clients on a range of affirmative and defensive immigration matters including applications for Asylum/CAT/Withholding, U/T visas, VAWA, SIJS, family-based petitions, cancellation of removal, waivers of inadmissibility, and post- order advocacy, including representing individuals in immigration and family court and, when needed, federal district court;
• Develop and conduct community education presentations for partner organizations and their members, including sometimes on evenings and weekends;
• Support partner organizing groups’ members and campaigns by providing advocacy, research, strategy and action support;
• Staff community-based legal clinics and advise clients of their avenues for relief;
• Advocate to legislative and regulatory bodies on behalf of immigrants and community-based organizations;
• Assist the practice area director and resource management team in grant compliance and fundraising;
• Assist with peer support of attorneys, legal advocates and interns in the Immigrants’ Rights practice area as needed;
• Participate in TakeRoot’s self-governance structure, including collective staff decision-making, participation in governance circles or working groups;
• Together with TakeRoot staff, develop and maintain relationships with community-based partners throughout New York City.

Qualifications:

• Be committed to economic, racial, and immigrant justice movements in New York City;
• Be passionate about working toward immigrant justice within a community lawyering model, serving community-based organizations and their members, and developing creative lawyering strategies to support immigrant organizing;
• Enjoy, and have experience in working with a team in a collaborative model that uplifts all voices on the team and encourages professional development;
• Have a J.D. degree;
• Be admitted to the bar of any state in the U.S., with a preference for New York;
• Have at least five years of experience representing immigration clients in affirmative and defensive proceedings;
• Have fluency in a second language (Bengali, French, Haitian Creole, Nepali, Spanish and/or Tagalog will be prioritized);
• 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) in a single PDF labelled under their name with the subject line “IR Staff Attorney” to jobs@takerootjustice.org, Attn: Nadia Qurashi. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.