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Fall 2023 California Legal Services Intern
APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 18 priority deadline
LOCATION: Hybrid / must be based in Northern California
Project ANAR is seeking fall interns for Afghan immigration legal services! This position is hybrid, with
most work conducted remotely and weekly/monthly in-person client work in the Bay Area. Law students
will be prioritized but undergraduates are eligible. Interns are expected to work roughly 15 hours a week
and start on or around September 15, 2023, for 12 weeks. Details can be finalized based upon individual
semester schedules.
Organizational background: Project ANAR is an Afghan community immigration Justice organization,
co-founded and led by Afghan American women. Project ANAR works nationally to advocate for
pathways to family reunification and refuge for Afghans outside the U.S., permanent legal status for those
in the U.S., and ultimately, an end to the systems that displace Afghans. Project ANAR’s work consists of
legal services, community education, and advocacy. Our direct legal services work is primarily focused in
Northern California. Project ANAR began out of necessity as a legal services mutual aid effort to assist
our own loved ones seeking a pathway to refuge in August 2021, particularly through Humanitarian
Parole applications. Our legal services work presently focuses on assisting the hundreds of Afghan
parolees in our region who are set to run out of temporary legal status between August and September
2023, and need outreach, education, and direct legal assistance to pursue asylum, Temporary Protected
Status (TPS), and other pathways. We also increasingly track issues faced by and offer assistance to
Afghans who arrive via the Southern Border and find themselves detained in ICE custody and/or in
removal proceedings. As an Afghan community organization, we also advocate more broadly for our
diaspora community, in coalition with other community organizations, immigration organizations, and
others. Past work has included an amicus brief challenging the seizure of Afghan assets, and co-hosting
a town hall to hold government officials accountable to answering our community’s questions. Project
ANAR is a project fiscally sponsored by Pangea Legal Services, a 501(c)3 non-profit immigration
organization based in San Francisco, CA. We lead our own work and mirror their horizontal leadership
and pay structure and pay all of our staff equally, regardless of background or education level. Project
ANAR’s team works primarily remotely, but does limited in person client work in the San Francisco Bay
Area, usually every 2 weeks.
Logistics: Interns are expected to work 15 hours a week. We encourage interns to seek external funding
for their internships or class credit.
Description:
Interns will work primarily in direct legal services with California-based Afghan parolees. 80,000 Afghans
have been relocated to the U.S. under temporary parole status since August 2021, with the majority
facing a looming deadline to pursue asylum and access permanent legal status here. The Bay Area is
one of the primary resettlement locations for Afghans in the U.S.
Interns will assist with attorney and legal assistant work, and/or take on tasks that attorneys and legal
assistants conduct, including client screenings and intakes, working on asylum applications, legal
research, Temporary Protected Status Applications, Adjustment of Status applications, and/or assisting in
defensive asylum/removal proceedings cases.
Interns may also assist with family reunification cases, including humanitarian parole and refugee
follow-to-join petitions. Interns may also assist with other projects as needed, including some advocacy
projects and community outreach and education efforts.
Interns will have an opportunity to engage in coalition work with other organizations, and contribute to the
development of Project ANAR resources.
Responsibilities:
+ Completing client screenings and intakes, including at on-site tabling events
+ Supporting all stages of the asylum application process, including drafting I-589s, interviewing clients &
drafting declarations, conducting country conditions research, and assisting with interview preparation
+ Assisting with advocacy at the Asylum Office for cases that surpass the decision deadline and following
up with clients to collect data and assess case outcomes
+ Assisting with other types of immigration applications as needed, including parole, TPS, SIV, family
based petitions, and responding to RFEs and NOIDs
+ Staffing in-person legal clinics and other community events approximately once per month
+ Assisting in virtual and in-person Know Your Rights legal presentations
+ Monitoring trends and changes related to U.S. immigration policy towards Afghans
+ Assisting in development of legal resources and materials
+ Assisting with advocacy and litigation projects as needed
+ Working collaboratively with team of attorneys, legal assistants, volunteers, and other interns
+ Attending weekly team check-ins and individual check-ins with supervising attorney
Requirements:
+ Prior law school coursework and/or practical experience in immigration law
+ Ability to work remotely and to join regular weekly meetings
+ Familiarity with Google Suite
+ Commitment to trauma-informed client interactions
+ Ability to track news and trends related to Afghan immigration and to adapt to changing policies
+ Commitment to teamwork and collaboration
+ Strong communication skills
+ Dari, Farsi, and/or Pashto fluency (oral and written, but particularly oral) strongly preferred
Please contact legal@projectanar.org with any questions.

Legal Program Associate
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR GENDER & REFUGEE STUDIES
The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) defends the human rights of refugees seeking asylum in the United States. With strategic focus and unparalleled legal expertise, CGRS champions the most challenging cases, fights for due process, and promotes policies that deliver safety and justice for refugees. We are a trusted partner and proven resource for legal services providers and human rights organizations and bring invaluable data and compelling personal stories to shape the public narrative. We use strategic litigation to advance sound asylum laws and protect due process rights. Through policy advocacy and education, we provide critical expertise to policymakers at all levels of government, leading the movement to honor our commitments to refugees and asylum seekers under U.S. and international law. Through technical assistance and training, we empower advocates to take on complex asylum cases, providing them with the tools they need to craft winning arguments and secure protections for their clients. CGRS is committed to building an anti-racist and anti-oppression organization that lives its values internally and externally.
THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES
CGRS is seeking a highly motivated individual passionate about refugee rights and ready to participate in all CGRS core program areas of policy and advocacy, training and technical assistance, and impact litigation. The position is based in San Francisco, California and the work includes both national and California-focused matters. The position is a dynamic one that will reflect the vision and flexibility of the organization in the changing landscape of attacks on refugee rights.
The Legal Program Associate will work under the direct supervision of a member of the CGRS Leadership Team but will provide support in various capacities to all CGRS programs. This role will primarily support CGRS’s Policy & Advocacy and Training & Technical Assistance Programs, while performing occasional paralegal-type duties for the litigation team. Projects will include coordinating logistics for CGRS’s leadership role in groundbreaking medical-legal partnerships to promote better legal and health outcomes for asylum seekers.
Typical duties and responsibilities consist of, but are not limited to, the following:
• Coordinate monthly convenings of medical-legal coalition known as ImmHELP, assist with scheduling, note-taking, and tracking grant-funded deliverables. Create outreach materials, including the design, launch, and maintenance of the ImmHELP website. Engage in efforts to evaluate and measure impact of ImmHELP and other related CGRS program work.
• Assist the Policy & Advocacy Program in all aspects of their work, including organizing and participating in meetings with key stakeholders, providing research support, proofreading, and formatting reports or other written materials.
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• Support CGRS’s Communications and Advocacy Manager to generate content for the website, social media, and other communications regarding policy and legal developments, such as newsletters, press releases, and fundraising appeals.
• Liaise with web developers to make improvements to CGRS website.
• Provide research assistance and other support to CGRS’s Manager of Regional Initiatives, including coordinating convenings, outreach to international partners, and other logistics.
• Assist in the development of technical assistance and training materials, including research, proofreading, and design of presentations, advisories, and other materials under the supervision of CGRS attorneys and in collaboration other legal program associates and coordinating and otherwise supporting production of webinars and in-person training opportunities.
• Participate in public outreach, promoting trainings, webinars, and other events, and provide support with all technology and other logistics involved in these presentations.
• Share in frontline technical assistance duties with fellow support staff including asylum case data maintenance and analysis.
• Provide support to CGRS attorneys litigating individual asylum cases as well as systemic challenges brought in federal court.
• Liaise between legal program staff and development staff, including providing information to comply with grant reporting.
• Provide other general program support on an as-needed basis.
REQUIREMENTS
Education and Experience
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Ability to write in a clear, structured, articulate, and persuasive manner.
• Strong proofreading skills.
• Enthusiasm to learn and grow in collaborative staff environment.
• Solid organizational and time-management skills.
• Proficiency with relevant software programs, e.g., MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
• Openness to learning how to support CGRS’s website and online databases.
• Ability to work independently and within a team.
• Attention to detail.
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• High level of productivity.
• Demonstrated commitment to refugee, human rights, and social justice issues.
• Willingness to travel.
• Proficiency in Spanish required (fluency a plus).
SALARY $64,500 – $70,500, commensurate with qualifications and experience
BENEFITS
Health and Welfare Benefits
• Comprehensive medical, dental and vision insurance coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts for transportation-related, healthcare, and dependent care expenses
• Employee Assistance Program
For Your Financial Future
• Life Insurance, Disability Insurance, and Legal Insurance
• University of California Retirement Plan (a defined benefit plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plans/Pre-tax Retirement Savings Programs
For Your Work/Life Balance
• Fifteen paid holidays per year
• Generous vacation and sick leave
• Commuter Benefits Program
THE HIRING PROCESS
To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume at this link. CGRS will review applications on a rolling basis and encourages individuals to apply by July 19, 2023.
Please note: This position has been designated as “sensitive” and requires a pre-employment background check.
Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please contact Human Resources if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process, providing documents in an alternate format, using a sign language interpreter, or using specialized equipment.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Applicants who meet the position requirements will be competitively evaluated to identify the individuals whose breadth and depth of experience and education most closely relate
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to the stated requirements and the needs of the College. Not all applicants will be contacted for an interview.
The position is open until filled.
The skills listed above are comprehensive, and we understand there are great candidates who possess only a subset of those skills, or who have other important skills. If you match some of these skills, please do not hesitate to apply.
UC College of the Law, San Francisco is an Equal Opportunity Employer. UC Law San Francisco strives to provide a diverse and inclusive educational environment that fosters cultural awareness, mutual understanding, and respect. UC College of the Law, San Francisco is interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education through their teaching. Qualified women and members of underrepresented minority groups are strongly encouraged to apply.