Lead Staff Attorney – Binational Family Unity Program (formerly Deportee Program)

Al Otro Lado is a binational legal services organization serving immigrants, refugees, and people who have been deported in Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego and Los Angeles, California. Al Otro Lado’s Binational Family Unity (BFU) Program seeks to help deported individuals and reunite families by assisting with cross-border custody issues, screening for U.S. citizens who may have been wrongfully deported, and challenging policies and practices that violate the rights of immigrants and people who have been deported. Al Otro Lado also provides social, legal, medical, housing, and mental health services and referrals to deported people who are struggling to survive in Tijuana.  

The Binational Family Unity (BFU) Lead Staff Attorney will run legal aspects of the program, engaging in presentations and workshops, legal analysis, direct representation of clients, and litigation work in both Tijuana, MX and in Southern California. The position will be based in Los Angeles, but may require frequent travel to Tijuana, MX. The position will involve federal litigation, post-conviction litigation in state court, and advocacy before relevant state and federal agencies including EOIR.

Duties include but are not limited to the following:

  • Reviewing immigration files for people who have been deported, to assess for possibility of return to the U.S. through post-conviction relief in criminal court, motions to reopen, and/or a claim to acquired or derived citizenship;

  • Engaging in advocacy before state courts, administrative agencies and EOIR, including representation of individuals with mental or developmental disabilities pursuant to the National Qualified Representative Program (NQRP); 

  • Representation in post-conviction relief motions before California criminal courts;

  • Engaging in advocacy before state courts, administrative agencies and EOIR;

  • Appellate advocacy before administrative agencies and federal Courts of Appeals; 

  • Engaging in federal litigation work such as class action litigation with partner organizations, FOIA litigation, and immigration appeals and motions directly and through pro bono attorneys, to advocate for the rights of people who have been deported and to impact changes in policy and the law;

  • Liaising with organizations across Mexico that advocate for the rights of the deported community and supporting community-led organizing efforts; 

  • Providing know-your-rights presentations and workshops for the deported community;

  • Filing FOIA requests and interpreting the results; and

  • Helping direct the work of interns and volunteer attorneys and non-attorneys.

This is a full-time, salaried exempt position. The salary is 65-75K depending on experience plus benefits.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

The applicant must be licensed to practice law in California and be eligible to be admitted to the Central District of California. The applicant must have excellent research, legal writing, and oral advocacy skills, as well as substantive knowledge of immigration and citizenship law, the intersection between immigration and criminal law, and appellate practice. The applicant must have a minimum of 2-3 years of experience practicing immigration law, including appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Experience litigating immigration matters in federal court, as well as the ability to litigate post-conviction relief cases in California criminal courts, are strongly desired. 

We will consider relevant federal judicial clerkship, EOIR clerkship or EOIR staff attorney, immigration paralegal experience, organizing experience, and/or law school clinic experience. Applicants should be self-directed and self-reliant, highly organized, flexible, and able to work in a high volume setting with limited resources. This position requires the ability to cross the United States-Mexico border on a regular basis. Spanish fluency is preferred, but all applicants will be considered. 

Generous Benefit Package

Employee Assistance Programs

Winter Break + 10 Federal Holidays and Juneteenth observed + PTO

Please submit a letter of interest, resume, writing sample, with three professional references to jobs@alotrolado.org, with Binational Family Unity Lead Staff Attorney in the subject line. Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. Al Otro Lado values diversity in the workplace and strongly encourages applications from people of color, LGBTQ individuals, formerly incarcerated individuals, individuals with disabilities, and members of underrepresented communities.