What are the responsibilities and job description for the Law Student Summer Internship - All Teams; 3 positions available position at Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center?
Law Student Summer Internship - All Teams; 3 positions available
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
ABOUT LAS AMERICAS IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY CENTER
Las Americas is a nationally recognized organization dedicated to serving immigrants and asylum seekers with high quality legal services, advocacy and support. Las Americas is binational with a geographic footprint of El Paso, TX, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and southern New Mexico.
Founded in 1987 by the visionary co-founders of Annunciation House, Las Americas was designed to address the unmet legal needs of Central Americans fleeing civil war and political unrest in the 1980’s.
Today, Las Americas serves individuals and families as they navigate the US immigration system in three program areas:
1) Las Americas Mexico serves migrants seeking access and/or wrongfully denied entry into the U.S. to seek asylum as the result of dangerous externalization policies;
2) Community Legal Programs houses our immigrant crime survivors, community elders, naturalization/derivation, DACA, and family-reunification petitions before USCIS.
3) Removal Defense Program serves asylum seekers and other migrants currently being held in CBP and ICE detention, and those in the community pursuing asylum and other forms of immigration relief before the El Paso Immigration Court.
Since its founding, Las Americas has served nearly 50,000 persons, while advocating for a robust asylum system, working to reunify separated families, and advocating for systemic change to US immigration policy and practices. As a legal service provider on the border, Las Americas has been on the frontlines of the fight for a humane and just immigration system- documenting abuses and fighting for migrants and asylum seekers at all levels of government.
Join our efforts as a legal intern working with any one of our three legal programs.
Description
- Engage with a small, dynamic team at the U.S.-Mexico border
- Gain experience conducting legal research on issues related to asylum, expedited removal, family-based petitions, humanitarian parole, citizenship, special immigration juvenile status, and other topics in immigration law
- For Las Americas Mexico: Assist in the dissemination of accurate information regarding the U.S. immigration system for asylum seekers in shelters in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and assist in the preparation of reports on conditions migrants face in northern Mexico
- For Community Legal Programs: Assist with the running of monthly community-based legal workshops in El Paso and southern New Mexico serving folks living in our communities
- For Removal Defense Program: Conduct client interviews with people detained in El Paso and New Mexico to prepare them for their asylum case, advocate for their release, and document abuses in detention
- Preference will be given to externs that can be based in El Paso, TX
Details
The Summer Intern period runs from June 3- Aug 8, but we are open to making accommodations as needed to fit student academic schedules.
This internship is unfunded; however, we are happy to work with any institutional funding the candidate may have.
Requirements
- Advanced or fluent in Spanish
- Open to current 1L, 2L, or evening law students
- Commitment to immigrant rights
- Flexible, good attitude
- If in El Paso, a car is necessary
To apply:
- Submit a cover letter and resume. Please specify which team(s) you are interested in working with in your cover letter.
- References may be requested following an interview
- Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis