Policy Attorney & Strategist

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center is Hiring!

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.

The ILRC currently has a hybrid work model requiring at least two in-office days per week.

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.

The Opportunity:

The Policy Attorney & Strategist will play a leading role in advancing the ILRC’s policy agenda with a focus on regulatory advocacy and education. Among other priorities, the ILRC works toward ensuring that immigration benefits and relief are more accessible for immigrants, defending immigration policies that are of key interest to the ILRC and its partners, such as naturalization and family immigration for poor and low-income immigrants of color, and combatting policies that systematize the criminalization of immigrants within the immigration system. The Policy Attorney & Strategist will be part of a team that meets regularly with policy makers and coalition partners, speaks publicly about ILRC’s priorities, represents ILRC in collaborative efforts with partner organizations, produces legal and policy analysis on immigration regulatory matters, and drafts written materials that explain complex immigration policy matters for various audiences. The Policy Attorney & Strategist will work closely with the Senior Policy Attorney & Strategist and be a critical member of the Federal Regulations and Administrative Advocacy Team as well as the ILRC Policy Team.

Job Responsibilities:

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.

Qualifications:

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.

Compensation/Benefits:

Pay is extremely competitive for the field and commensurate with experience according to the ILRC salary scale for attorneys. The starting pay for this position is $98,000 for those who are five years out of law school. An attorney hired for this position who has been out of law school for more than five years will have a higher salary based on their law school graduation year. For instance, an attorney who has been out of law school for eight years would have a salary of $111,400. The ILRC offers excellent benefits, medical/dental/vision insurance, EAP sessions, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The ILRC also sponsors a retirement plan option upon fulfillment of eligibility. Additionally, we offer an annual professional development stipend of $2,500, and, from 2024 – 2027, an annual wellness stipend of $2,500. ILRC also offers a paid sabbatical program: employees are eligible to apply for an 8-week sabbatical after five years of service and a 12-week sabbatical after ten years of service.

Applications:

This position will remain open until it is filled and is currently available. We will consider applications on an ongoing basis beginning immediately. To ensure consideration of your application, please submit a cover letter explaining your qualifications for and interest in the position, your salary requirements, a current resume, a writing sample that demonstrates immigration law and/or policy knowledge, and the contact information for three professional references, one of which must be a supervisor.

No phone calls please.

As a condition of employment at the ILRC, you will be required to submit proof of vaccination and at least two booster shots against COVID-19.*

The ILRC is an equal opportunity employer and does not make hiring or employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion or religious beliefs, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability age, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable local, state or federal laws. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and other similar state laws and local ordinances, ILRC will also consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records.

The ILRC provides reasonable accommodations as required by law. Employees may request an exception from vaccination requirements (if applicable) if the vaccine is medically contraindicated for them or medical necessity requires a delay in vaccination. Employees also may be legally entitled to a reasonable accommodation if they cannot be vaccinated because of a disability, or if receiving a COVID-19 vaccination conflicts with a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance. There may be other recognized exceptions under applicable state and/or local laws.