Immigrants’ Rights Staff Attorney

TakeRoot Justice seeks applicants with at least five (5) years relevant immigration legal experience for the position of Staff Attorney to join our Immigrants’ Rights team, which includes two Staff Attorneys, four Senior Staff Attorneys and a Director.  

Background: 

TakeRoot Justice provides legal, participatory research and policy support to strengthen the work of grassroots and community-based groups in New York City to dismantle racial, economic and social oppression. 

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. We work alongside our partners to provide their staff and membership with direct representation on affirmative and defensive immigration cases. Additionally, we 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 include: 

  • 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. 

Ideal Candidates will: 

  • 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 are experienced 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. 

Salary and compensation:  

The salary range for this position is $76,427 to $100,456 consistent with the salary setting procedures set forth in the collective bargaining agreement. An excellent benefits package is available, including generous vacation, personal, and sick time, along with strong medical and dental coverage.  This is a union position, proudly represented by Local 2320 of the National Organization of Legal Services Workers, UAW. 

Hybrid Workplace Statement: 

This is a full-time, hybrid position with occasional in-person work required in our New York City office location as well as sites such as courthouses and community-based sites throughout the city. TakeRoot Justice is a hybrid remote workplace that allows employee flexibility in determining whether to work remotely or in the office, for routine, independent work that doesn’t require office resources. Additional work hours rules are set by TakeRoot Justice’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

Application Instructions:  

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume and writing sample in a single PDF by e-mail only (no hard copies please) 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. 

TakeRoot Justice is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under the law. 

TakeRoot encourages applications from people with diverse backgrounds, including, but not limited to, women, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, LGBTGNCNBQI+ people, people from low-income backgrounds, people of all ages, and people with personal experience with the criminal justice system. We strongly encourage applications from people who have had lived experience in the communities we serve. TakeRoot believes that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.