Staff Attorney

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center Is Hiring!

Staff Attorney 

San Francisco, CA (Preferred); Southern California (Considered)

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is seeking a full-time Staff Attorney based in our San Francisco office. Alternatively, candidates in Southern California will be considered. This is an exempt position that reports to one of ILRC’s Senior Managing Attorneys. This is a bargaining unit position represented by the National Legal Services Workers (NOLSW), Local 2320.

The ILRC currently has a hybrid work model that requires two in-office days per week. For individuals who do not live near an ILRC office, if an office opens within commuting distance, the hybrid work policy will apply.

Who We Are:

The ILRC is a leading immigrant rights organization headquartered in San Francisco with staff in Washington, D.C.; Texas; Southern California; the Central Valley of California; and Washington state. 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. Additional information about our organizational values is available here.

The Opportunity: 

The Staff Attorney will focus exclusively on immigration enforcement work at the local and state level in California. The position will support the ILRC’s policy advocacy, coalition and campaign work, legal technical assistance, capacity building, trainings, and written resources related to immigration enforcement and the intersection of the immigration and criminal legal systems. We are open to candidates with three to seven years of relevant legal experience.  

Job Responsibilities: The Staff Attorney will participate in several programs, including, but not limited to:

• Representing the ILRC in various local and statewide enforcement coalitions which aim to disentangle law enforcement from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), including as needed leading or co-leading certain coalitions;
• Supporting California decarceration campaigns across the state;
• Providing individualized campaign strategy technical assistance to local campaigns at the intersection of criminal and immigration law (for example, sanctuary policy campaigns, youth and adult jail closure campaigns);
• Connecting criminal and youth justice legal system reform and immigration organizers and attorneys to learn about each other’s local organizing efforts, identifying mutual points of advocacy, and facilitating effective collaboration;
• Analyzing local and state legislation that affects ICE enforcement, due process of immigrants, and related issues. As needed, drafting legislation, advising legislative staff and other parties, and testifying before legislature;
• Supporting on written resources and strategy around national enforcement issues as needed;
• Working with local and state partners to develop a broader narrative around criminalization, prosecution, and deportation in California;
• Interfacing with media, giving press interviews, and supporting the development of media campaign strategy;
• Participating in regional collaboratives and task forces to represent the ILRC and provide relevant information on immigrants’ rights, immigration law, and policy updates;
• Providing in-person and remote legal trainings on immigration law and policy to a range of audiences including immigrant community members, community organizers, public defenders, district attorneys, judges, paralegals, and immigration attorneys;
• Engaging in intensive writing including updating manuals, practice advisories, and online resources, for attorneys, paralegals, community organizers, and members of the immigrant community, on a range of immigration law topics;
• Writing grant proposals, writing reports, and supporting the execution of foundation grant deliverables, and representing the ILRC in meetings with funders and supporters; and
• Traveling for trainings, meetings, and other events throughout California, and, at times, throughout the United States.

Qualifications: Requirements for the position include:

• We are open to candidates with three to seven years of experience as an attorney in immigration law. Immigration removal defense experience is strongly preferred, although we will consider candidates with other immigration law experience, particularly where their work has involved immigration enforcement, detention, or the intersection of the immigration and criminal legal systems.
• Experience, exposure to, or interest in, policy work including legislative, administrative, or budgetary advocacy, at the local or state level;
• Experience working with a wide array of groups, including individuals directly impacted by immigration or criminal legal systems;
• Commitment to abolitionist values;
• Excellent communication skills and attention to detail;
• Excellent writing, editing, legal analysis, and oral presentation skills;
• Exceptional time management skills and the ability to meet deadlines;
• Excellent public speaking skills;
• Skilled in the ability to convey complex legal and policy issues to diverse audiences;
• Commitment to immigrant rights and understanding of issues related to criminalization;
• A strong work ethic, including the following qualities: organized, flexible, reliable, and dependable, with the ability to be an independent worker and to manage several projects simultaneously while thriving in a team-based collaborative decision-making environment;
• A willingness to travel throughout California, and at times across the United States;
• A current Bar membership in good standing for any state in the United States or the District of Columbia.

• It is a plus if the applicant has additional relevant experience or knowledge about the following:

• Experience or exposure to California state court litigation, especially around law enforcement accountability;
• Spanish or Asian language proficiency within the range of conversational to fluent;
• Experience in “crim/imm” law (immigration consequences of criminal offenses);
• Experience electronic surveillance issues and upholding privacy rights;
• Experience or exposure to criminal legal defense;
• Media expertise including prior experience being interviewed by media, writing op eds, or developing media strategies in support of policy campaigns;
• Deep experience supporting and moving campaigns at the local, state, or federal level on immigration enforcement or adjacent topics;
• Experience in any area of immigration law policy;
• Knowledge of immigration issues in state court systems, including youth justice, child welfare, probate and family courts (particularly in California or Texas); and
• Experience working in, leading, or forming coalitions.

Compensation/Benefits: 

Pay is very competitive for the field and commensurate with experience according to the ILRC salary scale for Attorneys. The starting pay for this position is from $84,718.44 to $102,492.23 (for those three to seven years out of law school). An attorney hired for this position who has been out of law school for more than seven years will have a higher salary based on their law school graduation year.

The ILRC offers excellent benefits, medical/dental/vision insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) sessions, a flexible spending account for medical and dependent care, vacation, and sick leave. The ILRC also sponsors a retirement plan contribution upon fulfillment of eligibility. Additionally, we offer an annual professional development stipend of $2,500 and, from 2025 – 2027, an annual wellness stipend of $2,500. ILRC also offers a 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:

We will be accepting applications until November 10, 2026. 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 the position, your salary requirements, a current resume, a writing sample that demonstrates immigration law knowledge, and the contact information for three professional references.

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.