POLICY ATTORNEY & STRATEGIST – WASHINGTON, DC

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is seeking a full-time Policy Attorney & Strategist based in our Washington, DC office. This is an exempt position that reports to the Policy Director. This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Legal Services Workers (NOLSW), Local 2320.

WHO WE ARE:

The ILRC is a leading immigrant rights organization headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in Washington, D.C., Texas, and the Central Valley of California. Since 1979, our mission has been to educate, support, and empower immigrants, community organizations, and legal practitioners to build a more just, inclusive, and democratic society. Our team is passionate, collaborative, and committed to equity and innovation in all we do.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• A juris doctorate degree and at least five to seven years of relevant advocacy experience;
• Experience with immigration law and policies stemming from advocacy work or from practicing law;
• Current bar membership in good standing of any US state or the District of Columbia;
• Interest in partnering with and supporting organizations led by and/or comprised of immigrants and/or limited English speakers;
• Exceptional time management skills and the ability to manage multiple projects;
• A willingness to travel to the ILRC’s offices in San Francisco and throughout the U.S;
• Ability to maintain and nurture collegial relationships with the full range of partners including policy makers, coalition partners, and immigrant rights organizations;
• Excellent writing skills with the ability to write quickly and accurately for a variety of audiences including policy makers, the general public, attorneys, immigration advocates, and others in the progressive community;
• Ability to think quickly and creatively to solve unique problems, willingness to push policy makers to adopt ILRC’s visionary policy priorities;
• Skills in big picture thinking, applying an intersectional analysis and commitment to racial justice; and
• A strong work ethic, including the following qualities: organized, flexible, reliable, goal-oriented, and dependable, with the ability to be an independent worker and handle several projects simultaneously while thriving in a team-based collaborative decision-making environment.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience analyzing immigration regulations;
• Deep knowledge of immigration advocacy issues, especially pertaining to the accessibility of immigration benefits, immigration enforcement, immigration consequences of crime, naturalization, family immigration and DACA, and familiarity with processes pertaining to federal agencies; and
• Experience writing comments in response to immigration regulations.

The specific job responsibilities of the Policy Attorney & Strategist include:

• Help to monitor and track the federal government’s administrative agenda including regulations, policy memos, changes to immigration forms, USCIS policy manual changes and other immigration-related policy documents issued by federal agencies;
• Produce written legal and policy analysis, including regulatory comments responding to the executive branch’s regulatory changes, often in conjunction with the ILRC’s team of legal experts;
• Curate and update information for standalone, online regulatory resources focused on immigration regulations advocacy and education for all audiences;
• Help lead the ILRC’s engagement on federal executive branch actions on immigration by developing strategic recommendations and critical analysis to advance ILRC’s policy priorities;
• Develop advocacy materials (policy papers, fact sheets, talking points, proposed policy language, statements) for policy makers, and other audiences as needed on a wide variety of immigration policy topics;
• Help keep ILRC staff informed of relevant regulatory changes and provide up to date policy analysis to our legal experts;
• Support, as needed, ILRC’s policy team in educating congressional policy makers on immigration issues through actively engaging legislative offices, providing technical assistance, and sharing information; and
• Work with ILRC’s policy team to develop and maintain relationships with organizations led by immigrants or significantly composed of immigrants and provide ways to collaborate with them and elevate their priorities in advocacy efforts.