Paralegal, Detained Adult Program
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: $47,500-$63,800
Who We Are:
The Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition is the only non-profit organization in the Washington, D.C. area focused exclusively on providing legal assistance to adult and child immigrants detained by the government in the Capital Region. The Detained Adult Program (DAP) works with hundreds of adults who are detained by ICE each year, providing information, support and legal representation. We provide trauma-sensitive, person-centered services, and deeply value the autonomy of the people we work with in detention as they navigate the fundamentally inhumane immigration system.
Role Description:
A paralegal on a direct representation team in the Detained Adult Program focuses on (i) working with detained people and their attorneys throughout the course of removal proceedings, including assisting with paperwork and case preparation, and (iii) supporting the program’s provision of services as a whole, including through intakes and administrative tasks such as database maintenance and reporting to funders.
General Duties and Responsibilities [1]:
Client Services:
- Supports attorneys representing detained and released clients before immigration courts in Maryland, Virginia and remote locations (virtually), USCIS, ICE and local state courts. This includes representation in the following types of cases: Bond, Asylum, Withholding of Removal, Protection under the Convention Against Torture, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U-Visas, T-Visas, and Cancellation of Removal. Support includes assistance in developing client and witness declarations, coordination, drafting and preparing filings, country conditions research, and input in case strategy.
- Completes intakes and provides follow up after intakes to evaluate eligibility for relief from removal, including legal research, securing criminal records, and obtaining additional information from family and other community members.
- Conducts detention facility visits in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, for intake and client meetings, and other regions as needed where people are detained.
- Assists with the staffing of the detention hotline and oversight of volunteers for jail visits, the jail hotline, or translation/interpretation volunteer work, as needed.
- Carries out administrative tasks, including database maintenance and reporting to funders.
- Actively engages in CAIR Coalition’s training and advocacy efforts, as needed.
- Interfaces with social services staff, where needed, in preparation and execution of post release and social services plans.
Organizational Services:
- Ensures the inputting and accuracy of data and case information into shared databases in a timely fashion.
- Assists other program staff in completion of their workload during high-work/low-bandwidth periods.
- Takes part in stakeholder relationship activities, including in-person and remote meetings with community groups, governmental bodies and representatives, and other legal service providers.
- Engages with internal CAIR Coalition committees and working groups to lend a voice to the growth and strategy of the organization.
