Latest Developments on DACA and TPS

A federal district court has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the original 2012 DACA program. For the first time in years, initial DACA requests may be filed. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, is now accepting first-time DACA requests, renewals and advance parole applications based on the terms that existed prior to its attempted termination in 2017. Presenters will discuss the court’s order and USCIS response, and review the guidelines for filing initial DACA applications and advance parole requests.

Humbled and grateful: A year-end message

We embrace this holiday season, humbled, and full of gratitude, to you for supporting us. 2020 has been a challenging year. The COVID-19 pandemic coupled with changes from the current administration affected many immigration programs and the lives of countless immigrants who rely on them.

The promise of a new administration is a positive step as we usher in a new year, but the challenges are far from over. Our work must continue to ensure the dignity and protection of rights for all seeking equal rights and guidance today and the many tomorrows to come.

Through all the uncertainty, CLINIC accomplished a great many things thanks to our supporters.

  • CLINIC’s Advocacy staff played a key role in defending Liberian immigrants by working to secure extensions of the wind down period of Deferred Enforced Departure for Liberia and a groundbreaking successful implementation of Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness.
  • CLINIC’s Board of Immigration Appeals Pro Bono Project celebrated tremendous victories this summer at the Board of Immigration Appeals and in the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. Despite many challenges, our talented volunteers continued to take on difficult appeals and win protection for vulnerable asylum-seekers.
  • Capacity Building staff provided trainings on the implementation of technology in the immigration process, policies and procedures, and ethics to help CLINIC’s network follow its mission and ensure vulnerable immigrants could pursue their American dream.
  • The Defending Vulnerable Populations Program staff filed five affirmative challenges in federal court as co-counsel seeking to protect unaccompanied children, asylum seeking families, TPS beneficiaries with U.S. citizen sons, daughters or spouses, and a gentleman subjected to prolonged ICE detention despite a claim to derivative U.S. citizenship. Additionally, staff drafted an amicus brief to the office of the Director on the Recognition & Accreditation (R&A) Program, and signed on to 19 amicus briefs before the Board of Immigration Appeals and U.S. courts of appeals.
  • Our Estamos Unidos Asylum Project has consistently provided legal orientation through remote individualized consults during a pandemic. The project has not stopped accompanying families through difficult times and assisting them through their next steps. We also made significant contributions to the advocacy and policy arena by becoming a nationwide resource and point of reference for policies and practices along the border.
  • Religious Immigration Services staff were able to successfully adapt to the year's challenges to maintain high quality direct services for our international religious worker clients, addressing the high demand for information and education on U.S. immigration laws for international religious workers. As the legal experts in this specialized niche of immigration law, our presence was furthered amplified in the Catholic community.
  • Training and Legal Support focused on public charge matters by responding to an average of 25 daily requests for technical support during the pandemic, resulting in 13 immigration law trainings as the landscape changed. Additionally, TLS was called upon to update four immigration law books.

There is still much work to be done. CLINIC needs your continued support to making sure every voice is heard, every case is presented, and most importantly, families are reunited. We have counted on you in the past and you have not let us down. Please join us as we work on behalf of the immigrant families, asylum-seekers, farm workers, domestic abuse survivors, religious workers and countless others who come to our country and become part of the fabric of our nation.

During this season of giving, please consider supporting CLINIC.

Immigrant Housing Justice Project Bilingual Staff Attorney

St. Francis Community Services (SFCS), an agency of Catholic Charities of St. Louis, assists 3,500+ impoverished and marginalized individuals throughout our region each year over multiple programs which focus on legal aid, case management and immigrant services.

SFCS is seeking a full-time staff attorney with our Immigrant Housing Justice Project (IHJP) to assist with the legal needs of low-income immigrants in housing crisis. This staff attorney will provide legal representation at no cost to immigrants helping them resolve legal matters that jeopardize stable housing for themselves and their families. This staff attorney will primarily concentrate their legal aid practice in the areas of eviction, unlawful detainer, rent and possession, habitability, and illegal lockouts. This staff attorney will work with the IHJP Organizer to serve the immigrant client in meaningful ways beyond the delivery of legal services in an effort to keep the client in stable housing.

This is a full-time, salaried position with benefits. The staff attorney reports to the SFCS Managing Attorney. Salary is negotiable, depending on experience.

Qualifications:

  • A Missouri Bar law license and a member in good standing with the Missouri Bar or the assurance of obtaining Missouri Bar law license within a short period of being hired.
  • Excellent bilingual (Spanish/English) written and oral communication skills. (Native proficiency in Spanish preferred.)
  • A desire and commitment to provide high quality legal assistance to low-income immigrants primarily in the area of housing law.
  • Prior experience working with immigrants and/or low-income populations preferred.
  • A commitment to social justice and public interest law.
  • A desire to work collaboratively with staff and volunteers as well as community legal aid partners and immigrant service providers and to participate in community events and outreach to further immigrants’ access to community services while promoting education and awareness on issues specifically affecting low-income immigrants in housing crisis.

To Apply, send cover letter and resume with salary requirements to Les Lexow, Senior Director Human Resources, at llexow@ccstl.org.

EOE

Employment Type

Affiliate Agency

Employment Level

Job

Reports To

Managing Attorney

Position

Immigrant Housing Justice Project Bilingual Staff Attorney

Organization

St. Francis Community Services

Job Location

St. Louis, MO
United States