Detention Fellow (post-graduate, 2 years)

The Immigrant Rights Clinic at Rutgers Law School in Newark, New Jersey (IRC), is seeking to hire recent law graduates for full-time positions in its Detention & Deportation Defense Initiative (DDDI)project, to start in the summer or early fall of 2026.

The DDDI Fellow will work with Professor Anju Gupta, Director of the IRC, Managing Attorney Leena Khandwala, and staff attorneys in the DDDI project. The DDDI team is also supported by a full-time paralegal, devoted exclusively to this project.

In 2018, the state of New Jersey committed funds to establish a project aimed at providing pro bono legal representation to detained immigrants in the state. The IRC is one of four partners in this exciting and innovative project. Since 2018, the funding and capacity of the DDDI project has expanded greatly, allowing us to move closer to our goal of ensuring legal representation for all low-income New Jersey immigrants in detained removal proceedings.

The DDDI Fellow will represent detained immigrants as well as those immigrants who have been recently released from detention and/or are vulnerable to being detained, in their proceedings before the Elizabeth, Newark, and other Immigration Courts; the Board of Immigration Appeals; the federal District Courts; and the federal Courts of Appeals, as appropriate.

The DDDI Fellow will also coordinate clinical and nonclinical law students representing these individuals or providing assistance on the project. Additionally, the DDDI Fellow will assist with maintaining data about DDDI Project outcomes and statistics for grant reports and other reporting purposes and may also participate in policy and advocacy around issues pertaining to our clients and constituents.

The DDDI Fellow will benefit from close mentoring and support from supervising attorneys throughout their fellowship, as well as have opportunities to attend trainings and conferences as funding permits. The initial appointment is for one year, but we expect the position to be renewed for a second year, contingent on continued funding.

Position requirements:

• A law degree;
• Membership in a bar of any state or plans to become a member of a state bar shortly after commencement of the position;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• Strong written and oral communication skills; and
• Demonstrated commitment to immigration law, including familiarity with immigration law and procedures, and/or experience representing immigrants (including, but not limited to, law school clinical experience).

Preferred Qualifications:

• NJ bar membership is a plus, though not required; and
• Fluency in another language, particularly Spanish, is a plus, though not required. This is a full-time, year-round position. The salary range is $65,000-70,000/year plus excellent benefits through Rutgers University. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, but interested candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, a list of references, a law school transcript (unofficial is fine), and a writing sample no later than March 31, 2026. The cover letter should address all of the position requirements listed above. Applications should be mailed in a single PDF to Sylvia Santos at sylvia.santos@rutgers.edu

The position is eligible for excellent benefits through Rutgers University.

Fluency in another language, particularly Spanish, is a plus, though not required.