Immigration Legal Intern

IRC’s Immigration Program serves approximately 15,000 clients each year through its network of US offices, focusing on citizenship, adjustment of status for refugees and asylees, family reunification, and other affirmative applications before US Citizenship & Immigration Services, as well as new programs in asylum and removal defense at select U.S. field offices, including through Vera’s SAFE (Safety and Fairness for Everyone) Network which advocates for universal representation of immigrants in removal proceedings. SCOPE OF INTERN WORK: With oversight from the Immigration Director and Immigration Technical Advisor, the Immigration Legal Intern will be part of RAI’s Immigration Legal Services HQ unit, which provides guidance and oversight to IRC’s immigration legal work across the U.S. The intern will provide analysis of new immigration policies to IRC’s network of field offices, develop training materials, and perform research in response to individual technical assistance requests for client cases handled by the IRC legal services network.

COMMITMENT: 8-12 weeks in Summer 2021, 37.5 hours per week

RESPONSIBILITIES:

•Research and prepare legal memos and materials for dissemination throughout the network on immigration law and policy issues that impact IRC immigration clients. Past intern assignments have included:

oAdjustment of Status for clients with Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

oOvercoming terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds

oOutlining the path of a marijuana criminal conviction under new state law trends

oLegal research on relief under the Cuban Adjustment Act

•Facilitate the development and maintenance of IRC’s training materials and training events for the network on immigration issues or other refugee and immigration issues to build capacity, promote program innovation, and support high-quality services.

•Assist with the development of community outreach strategies as needed.

•We welcome collaborative ideas for research assignments that would be of particular interest to the legal intern and mutually beneficial for IRC clients across the U.S. network.

•Other duties as assigned.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

1.The intern will gain professional experience providing technical legal assistance and programmatic support to a network of immigration legal programs in the US, including by conducting legal research, drafting memos and practice advisories, and assisting in the development of program policies.

2.The intern will deepen understanding of immigration law and policy, particularly as it pertains to refugees and asylees in the US.

3.The intern will gain practical experience working in a fast-paced environment for a large NGO in a challenging policy environment for refugees and immigrants.

REQUIREMENTS:

•Law student or 2021 law graduate.

•Strong interest and experience working in immigration and refugee issues.

•Very strong written communication skills, including the ability to effectively distill and present complex information in a concise, accessible way.

•Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize, multi-task, and manage time effectively.

•Experience with website maintenance, social media, or newsletter development is a plus (not required).

This is an unpaid internship position. No financial compensation, including compensation for relocation, is available.

Interested applicants should email a resume, cover letter, and short writing sample with the subject line Immigration Legal Intern to Olga.Byrne@rescue.org.

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.