ProBAR - Staff Attorney TX-CA

The Staff Attorneys for ProBAR's Children's Team advocate for and serve some of the highest numbers of detained unaccompanied children nationally. Staff Attorneys represent children seeking humanitarian immigration relief, support unrepresented children appearing before the immigration court, and connect children with advocates and other supportive services as needed. The team's legal advocacy and representation are complemented by ProBAR's holistic approach that integrates connections to services for children released from detention.

The Organization

ProBAR empowers immigrants through high-quality legal information, representation, and connections to services. ProBAR serves immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley and Houston regions 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 primary office is located in Harlingen, TX with a field office in Houston, TX. For more information about ProBAR, please visit our website: https://abaprobar.org/

Job Summary / General Purpose of Job

Accountable for providing legal services to detained unaccompanied children in immigration removal proceedings, in the border region. This position will require regular involvement with individuals living in difficult circumstances and who may have experienced trauma. This position duration is for a period of three months. It is contingent upon funding availability, and ProBAR anticipates funding to extend through Fall of 2026. This position may report out the Harlingen or Houston offices. A remote position for an applicant in Texas is also an option. The primary work travel will be to Nueces County.

Essential Job Functions and Responsibilities (listed in order of importance and/or time spent)

• Provides legal services including direct representation to detained or locally released children in immigration removal proceedings.
• Reviews legal screenings conducted by non-attorney staff. Reviews and assigns follow-up services, including additional interviewing, referrals to other legal services providers and advocates, or in-house representation.
• Regularly appear in immigration court to represent children in removal proceedings and to act as Friend of Court for other detained youth as appropriate. May also appear in Texas state court as related to a child’s immigration case.
• Develops and maintains legal competency relating to immigration detention work, specifically as applied to unaccompanied minors. Builds and maintains relations with local stakeholders. Observes ethical practices relating to client confidentiality using division’s case management system.
• Builds and maintains relationships with local stakeholders.
• Frequent travel to Nueces County (approximately one to three days per week between two to three hours each way) is required, unless the applicant is based in the service area.
• Performs other related duties as required.

Required Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Possession of a Juris Doctorate or Master of Law (LLM) 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. Spanish language fluency evaluation will be conducted as part of the application process.
• Intermediate proficiency with online research and Microsoft Office products (Word, Excel, OneDrive, teams)
• Must be familiar with conducting virtual meetings, training, and observations on software such as Zoom, Teams, etc.
• Must be able to pick up on client verbal and non-verbal cues.
• Must have reliable transportation to travel between office and off-site work locations. Frequent travel to off-site locations (approximately three days per week for a few hours each way) is required. If the applicant is based in the service area, long periods of travel may not be necessary.
• Must have reliable internet and phone connection.
• This position requires the ability to travel to and enter care provider facilities funded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Administration for Children and Families, United States Department of Health and Human Services which provide housing and services to unaccompanied children. This position will require the provision of legal services to unaccompanied children in such care provider facilities. In accordance with the federal regulation, background check will be required for this position.

Preferred Education, Qualifications, Experience

• Licensed to practice law and member in the State Bar of Texas, and one year experience.
• Prior work experience with children, particularly from Central America and including indigenous language- speaking populations.
• Prior volunteer, community, or work experience regarding immigration or detention.
• Prior non-profit experience, particularly involving immigration detention.

Physical Requirements

• Typical office setting with frequent visits to immigration detention facilities and immigration court.
• Continuously operates a computer and other office machinery, such as telephone, copy machine, and computer printer.

Travel

As a normal course of business, this job will typically require travel 40% of the time (occasional overnight travel).