Immigrants' Rights Attorney Fellow
ACLU

New Orleans, Louisiana

Posted in Not for Profit and Charities


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Job Info


Our client, the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana (ACLU-LA) seeks a creative and dynamic team player with immigrants' rights legal experience to become ACLU-LA's Immigrant's Rights Attorney. ACLU-LA is building a more expansive legal infrastructure, and the immigrants' rights attorney will be responsible for leading the organization's legal work for immigrants in the LatinX community and elsewhere. The Immigrants' Rights Attorney's primary role will be focused on frequent and extensivetravel to detention centers and building a rapport and relationships with those detained, in addition to those who manage and administer the facilities at issue.

Separately, but equally as important, the attorney will attend and participate in multiple calls with coalition partners in the immigrants' rights space, in addition to calls and meetings hosted by the National ACLU and its Immigrants' Rights Project (IRP). As communications strategy is critical to this space, the ideal candidate will welcome and be expected to work closely with our Communications Department, including by providing insight about the reality on the ground and liaising with coalition partners and other experts in the field.

In 2022, the ACLU of Louisiana plans to disseminatepro sepackets to immigrants in detention across the state-a project that it has been closely working on with the Rapid Defense Network, a non-profit uniquely focused on responding to the legal needs of immigrants across the country.

The ideal candidate will also manage immigration cases borne out of the ACLU-LA's Justice Lab initiative and work closely with IRP on public records requests investigating COVID vaccination policies and efforts and Louisiana's 287(g) enforcement efforts, including the handling of people currently and formally detained by ICE and immigration warrants.

The Immigrants' Rights Attorney will report to the legal director and collaborate closely with the entire legal team, the advocacy director, and the communications director.

The attorney will be a strategic thinker who is comfortable working closely with directly impacted people, community groups and organizations, and stakeholders.

ACLU-LA, the state affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union, is a private, non-profit, non-partisan public interest organization dedicated to defending and advancing civil liberties and civil rights through advocacy, coalition-building, litigation, legislative, community mobilization, and public education.

ACLU-LA's policy work includes but is not limited to, criminal justice reform; increasing access to the ballot box; advancing racial justice and LGBTQ equality; protecting religious freedom, reproductive justice, and the fair treatment of immigrants and refugees.

Responsibilities:

  • Frequent and extensive travel to detention facilities across the state. Because the facilities are located far away from New Orleans, where our office is located, these trips will likely be overnight and extend across multiple days.
  • Attending and contributing to multiple bi-monthly and monthly calls with coalition partners, including legal subgroups working on broader litigation goals and strategies.
  • Staffing monthly calls with IRP and working in collaboration with IRP on investigations and, as the need arises, litigation in Louisiana and elsewhere, including Washington D.C., relating to those detained in Louisiana.
  • Collaborate with IRP and potential other partners on the (i) filing of legal challenges to racist detention policies and First Amendment violations, and (ii) assist in the litigation of cases brought on behalf of immigrant community members affected by racist policing practices.
  • Additionally, in collaboration with IRP, identify and document the practices of the Baton Rouge border patrol office in response to documented instances of unlawful stops and fabricated reasonable suspicion by members of that office. This will involve investigating Baton Rouge's 287(g) enforcement efforts, including its handling of ICE detainers and immigration warrants, and document the agency's 287(g) practices.
Qualifications:
  • Passion for, and a well-articulated knowledge of, civil liberties, civil rights and racial justice, and a familiarity with the work and mission of the ACLU;
  • Admission to the Bar;
  • Fluent written and spoken Spanish language skills;
  • A minimum of 1 year of litigation or clerkship experience at the state and federal levels, with a strong background in constitutional and civil rights litigation;
  • Excellent communication, media, presentation, written, and analytical skills;
  • Experience representing and working with activists in grassroots and non-governmental organizations;
  • Ability to listen, guide and support people to achieve common goals;
  • Keen attention to detail; ability to work simultaneously on multiple projects at various stages of completion; good problem-solving skills, and a positive, professional attitude with sound judgment, flexibility, determination and good humor in a fast-paced, sometimes high-pressure office;
  • Ambitious, creative, and results-oriented initiative and a desire to learn, pitch-in, and anticipate new projects; ability to collaborate, including working closely with all colleagues at the ACLU-LA and as applicable, colleagues at IRP and the national ACLU;
  • An absolute commitment to the highest ethical and professional standards; and
  • Willingness to work beyond 9 to 5 and to travel throughout Louisiana as needed.
  • Compensation: Salary is competitive and based on experience. Excellent benefits include vacation, sick leave, family leave, generous health, dental and vision insurance with employee premiums paid 100% by the employer, a 401k contribution and match, and paid parking.
The ACLU of Louisiana is an equal opportunity employer and values a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

The ACLU of Louisiana is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please e-mailcareers@laaclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

If you desire to include a cover letter, please insert it as the first page of your resume file prior to uploading.


This job has expired.

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