Program Assistant, Immigrant Legal Rights Program

 Position Title: Program Assistant, Immigrant Legal Rights Program

Organization: Jewish Family Service of San Diego

Department: Immigration Legal Services

Position Type: Full-Time (37.5+ hours/week), Non-Exempt

Work Setting: Onsite

Reports To: Lead Paralegal

Pay Range: $19 to $20/hour

Total Compensation:  

In addition to standard pay, compensation for this position includes:

• Comprehensive, low-cost healthcare coverage for employees
• Generous employer 401(k) contributions
• Employer-covered life insurance

Time Away from Work:

Being able to take time away from work is critical in bringing your best self to work. Time off benefits for this position include:

• Paid vacation time and sick leave
• 15 paid holidays, including Federal and Jewish holidays (as long as the holiday lands on a normal scheduled work day), and floating holidays
• 2 Wellness Days to be taken any time during the year to support employees’ mental wellness

Position Overview:

Jewish Family Service of San Diego (JFS) is one of four refugee resettlement agencies in San Diego County, a Department of Justice Recognized organization, and a core partner of the San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) - a group of 40+ immigrant rights and social service organizations, attorneys and community leaders who educate, protect and assist immigrant individuals and families – including refugees and asylum seekers – with legal support and social services. JFS has a large Immigration Legal Services Department (ILSD) where it not only coordinates the legal services for SDRRN, but also has a large team of lawyers, DOJ accredited representatives, and support staff working on a wide range of services for low-income and vulnerable immigrants in San Diego and Imperial counties. This position will work within the ILSD team at JFS. The ILSD team specializes in removal defense, family-based petitions and applications, administrative relief, naturalization, and humanitarian relief.  The ILSD team has experience and regularly practices immigration law before Department of Homeland Security (DHS), such as with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol (BP) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as well as before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) at the San Diego, Otay Mesa and Imperial Immigration Courts and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The ILSD team also represents clients in relevant immigration matters before San Diego Superior Court on simple post-conviction relief and probate guardianship matters. The ILSD is also the legal service provider which coordinates the Higher Education Legal Services (HELS) program at 2 CA State Universities – San Diego State and CSU San Marcos, in addition to 9 community colleges in San Diego and Imperial counties.

Under the supervision of the Lead Paralegal, the Program Assistant will be responsible for providing direct support to the Immigrant Legal Rights Program (ILRP) staff to support legal representation to ILRP clients in immigration cases, including support for representation before EOIR, DHS, federal circuit courts, and state courts, while helping to support the broader efforts of the ILSD team.

Responsibilities:

Under the supervision of the Lead Paralegal, the Program Assistant will be responsible to

• Assist in the management of our immigration phone lines and requests for services via postal mail and email
• Coordinate the scheduling of immigration legal screenings for attorneys and DOJ accredited representatives and communicate effectively with potential clients
• Conduct immigration legal intakes, as needed
• Support paralegals, attorneys, and DOJ Accredited Representatives with case tasks, which may include interpretation/translations and form preparation
• Assist with organization of client’s physical and electronic files, which includes scanning documents to e-files and filing case documents in case files
• Assist in the preparation and mailing of immigration filings
• Assist with postal mail organization and filing in the appropriate e-files and physical files
• Route client messages to team members handling case and assist in responses to client inquiries as needed
• Perform and manage data entry for all ILRP cases, and assist with program planning, database management and quality and grant reporting
• Provide additional administrative support to paralegals, attorneys and DOJ Accredited Representatives, as n