Detention Program Staff Attorney

The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a nonprofit organization that provides free immigration legal services to individuals in immigration detention and to children and their families throughout Colorado. RMIAN’s Detention Program provides legal and social service support to individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the privately‑owned civil immigration detention facility located in Aurora, Colorado.

RMIAN has an immediate opening for a full‑time Staff Attorney in our Detention Program to provide legal information for clients detained at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility. RMIAN’s legal orientation program is a know‑your‑rights program that seeks to educate and inform individuals detained at the Aurora immigration detention facility about their rights in removal proceedings, court procedures, release options, and relief from removal.

The Staff Attorney will screen individual cases for referral to volunteer pro bono counsel as well as to RMIAN direct representation staff attorneys. As part of this process, the Staff Attorney provides necessary support to the entire team by conducting legal analysis on options for relief for potential clients. The Staff Attorney will provide brief advice and pro‑se assistance to unrepresented individuals who are detained.

On occasion, the Staff Attorney will represent detained individuals on a limited‑scope basis, including in medical advocacy, release advocacy, and other matters. Additionally, the Staff Attorney will identify and create pro‑se materials as needed to distribute to individuals detained at the Aurora facility.

This position is meant for an attorney dedicated to equal justice for all – someone who has experience in immigration law, particularly removal defense (and preferably in a detained setting).

• Is an attorney with a background in immigration law and a strong commitment to immigrant justice – passionate about RMIAN’s work and mission.
• Is guided by the principle that all respondents before the immigration court are entitled to counsel and is passionate about explaining a complex legal framework in a digestible manner to individuals not well‑versed in the complexities of immigration law. This candidate is excited about educating and empowering pro‑se individuals and enjoys creative delivery of information.
• Is comfortable working with individuals in a detained setting and is excited to provide trauma‑informed services to a wide variety of individuals, including those living with serious physical and mental disabilities and/or illness and those with varying levels of education and literacy.
• Enjoys collaborating with others on a team and feels ready to tackle assignments collectively, and is also able to work independently.
• Understands how to prioritize, enjoys handling multiple assignments running in parallel, and can triage to meet time‑sensitive deadlines.
• Is skilled at building rapport with pro‑se respondents and at building relationships with Detention Program staff and LOP stakeholders. The ideal candidate acts with courtesy, patience and poise, is confident speaking to groups, and is excited to share RMIAN’s work with others.
• Has experience and confidence in speaking to groups.

• Conduct individual intakes in person several times a week to provide legal information and brief advice and to screen potential clients for eligibility for relief.
• Perform legal and factual research to determine participants’ legal eligibility and suitability of cases for referral and to create educational materials for pro‑se individuals representing themselves.
• Support RMIAN’s pro bono efforts to match as many cases as possible with free legal representation, including screening cases, communicating with respondents, and gathering records in support of pro‑se litigation efforts.
• Under the supervision of the Deputy Managing Attorney, determine how to best support individual pro‑se respondents in their legal cases when it is not possible to find a volunteer attorney to represent the individual.
• If RMIAN’s request is granted to resume providing in‑person…