Staff Attorneys for ProBAR’s Adult Team advocate for and serve adults in ICE custody who are at risk of deportation and face significant barriers to access to counsel. Our Adult Team Staff Attorneys provide a combination of legal orientations, direct representation, and pro se assistance to adults from around the world who seek humanitarian immigration relief. The Staff Attorney will engage in a significant amount of direct representation, handling asylum and cancellation of removal cases, as well as applications for other forms of relief and petitions for release on bond and parole. The team’s legal advocacy is complemented by ProBAR’s holistic approach that integrates connections to services.  

The Organization:  

ProBAR empowers immigrants through high-quality legal education, representation, and connections to services. ProBAR serves immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley border region with a particular focus on the legal needs of adults and unaccompanied children in federal custody. Founded in 1989 as a project of the American Bar Association, ProBAR’s office is located in Harlingen, TX. For more information about ProBAR, please visit our website: https://ambar.org/probar      

Job Summary/ General Purpose of Job 

Accountable for providing legal services to detained immigrants in the South Texas Region. This position will require regular involvement with individuals’ living in difficult circumstances and who may have experienced trauma.
 
Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities (listed in order of importance and/or time spent)

• Provides direct representation to detained or locally released immigrants in removal proceedings.

• Provides group and individual legal orientations and workshops to detained immigrants in immigration removal proceedings. 

• Regularly appears in immigration court. Represents clients seeking immigration relief such as asylum, T Visas, U Visas, cancellation of removal, and other relief as appropriate.

• Mentors pro bono attorneys, non-attorney staff, and volunteers as needed.

• Develops and maintains legal competency relating to immigration detention work. Builds and maintains relationships with local stakeholders. Observes ethical practices relating to confidentiality and all other applicable legal ethics standards. Maintains case files, documentation and data integrity using case management systems. 

• Performs other related duties as required.

Required Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Possession of a Juris Doctorate degree from an ABA-accredited law school and be in good standing.  

• Licensed to practice law in a U.S. state or territory.

• Fluent in English and Spanish in written and spoken forms.

• Intermediate proficiency in online research and Microsoft Office products including MSWord, MSExcel, MSOneDrive and MSTeams.

• Must be familiar with conducting virtual meetings, training, and observations on videoconferencing software such as Zoom, Teams, etc. 

• Must be able to pick up on client verbal and non-verbal cues.

• Must have reliable internet and phone connection.

• Have reliable transportation to travel to off-site work locations.

• This position requires the ability to travel to and enter detention centers.

Preferred Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Experience practicing immigration law.

• Prior work experience with clients from Central and South America, including indigenous language- speaking populations.

• Prior volunteer, community, or work experience regarding refugees, immigration or detention.

• Prior non-profit experience, particularly involving immigration detention or refugees.

Flexible/hybrid work arrangements may be available for residents of CA, IL, IN, DC, MD, VA, and TX.  Residency requirements may apply.