About the Program

Since 2008, Mission Action’s Deportation Defense & Legal Advocacy Program has been a local leader in providing pro bono legal defense for individuals and families facing deportation.  We use creative legal and advocacy strategies to challenge prolonged detention, constitutional violations, and other injustices in the immigration legal system through direct services, appeals, impact litigation, and public advocacy.  We represent individuals threatened with deportation by challenging removability, and through applications for relief, including asylum, withholding of removal, relief under the Convention Against Torture, waivers of inadmissibility and deportability, and applications for U-visa, T-Visa, and VAWA relief.  We strive to connect our individual casework to broader movements for immigrants’ rights, racial justice, and abolition and to be guided by the communities we work alongside.  We are a caring and supportive team that values sustainability and wellness in this challenging work.

What you'll do

•        Conduct intakes with potential clients, screen for claims for relief, and provide legal counsel and advice.
•        Provide full-scope representation to individuals facing removal before the Immigration Court, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
•        Stay informed of developments in agency practice, policy, and law.
•        Participate in agency meetings, community activities, collaborative meetings, and trainings.
•        Engage in outreach, education, and advocacy in the area of immigrant rights on the local and state level.
•        Maintain and establish relationships with community partners and immigration service providers.

Other Organizational Duties

• Conducts business in accordance with the Mission Action Employee Handbook, exercising sound judgment and serving the best interests of the agency and the community.
• Works within the framework of the agency’s mission, vision, values, theory of change, and organization’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, restorative justice, trauma-informed work, and language justice.
• Commits themselves to treating each community member with respect and dignity.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

•        Juris Doctor or equivalent and active bar admission.
•        Experience practicing removal defense and direct services.
•        Ability to communicate effectively with monolingual Spanish-speakers (i.e., advanced Spanish skills).
•        Ability to work effectively and compassionately with survivors of trauma and clients with mental illness.
•        Strong commitment to working with low-income and underserved communities, with an ability to relate to and communicate with a broad range of clients and colleagues.
•        Demonstrated commitment to immigrant rights and community empowerment.
•        Familiarity and demonstrated commitment to DSCS mission, values, and organizational work.
•        Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
•        Excellent written and oral communication skills.
•        Ability to work as part of a team and independently to manage priorities and prioritize workflow.
•        Strong computer knowledge, ability to use Adobe and Microsoft Office.
•        Commitment to providing culturally humble services.

How to Apply

If you are qualified and interested in applying, please submit your resume, cover letter, salary requirements and three professional references, including a supervisorial reference to https://www.missionaction.org/about/careers/. Immediately interviewing on a rolling basis until position is filled. Please visit our web site for additional information on our organization at: www.missionaction.org

Mission Action (www.misstionaction.org) is an equal-opportunity employer which values lived experience and seeks applicants of the greatest diversity possible. We encourage people of color, women, older people, members of the LGBTQ community, and individuals with disabilities, including HIV and community members who grew up in the Mission District. Pursuant to the SF Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment, qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.