Job Purpose and Activities:

• Represents non-citizen adults facing deportation and detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center (MVPC) and non-detained immigrants residing in Pennsylvania. Cases include a wide scope of removal  defense before immigration courts, the BIA, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Cases selected fall under both a particular vulnerabilities model and a universal representation model.
• Represents unaccompanied minors in south central Pennsylvania, in long-term foster care or released from the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s custody.
• Conducts legal intakes and screenings of prospective clients for representation.
• Provides non-representational legal orientation services under Know Your Rights (KYR) to detained adults seeking to self-represent.
• Works with program coordinators to ensure all client data is properly recorded and entered into appropriate case management programs and databases.
• Works with Managing Attorney to maintain and navigate relationships with governmental agencies, nonprofit legal service providers, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Law degree and licensed to practice law or pending application before the bar of any state in the U.S. required.03/15/2026
• Excellent research, writing, and oral advocacy skills.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to communicate with people of different racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Ethic of serving clients with compassion.
• Sense of personal initiative and ability to work independently with appropriate guidance and supervision.
• Ability to balance competing priorities and communicate as priorities shift. Ability to meet deadlines.
• Must be flexible and adaptable.
• Commitment to PIRC’s mission, immigration advocacy, and legal services.
• 1 – 2 years of relevant immigration removal defense experience.

Preferred:

• Fluency (reading/writing/speaking) in Spanish and/or other language.

Other:

• Must successfully pass NCIC, FBI, and State Criminal and Child Abuse Clearance background checks.
• Regional travel is required to provide legal orientation services, including overnight.
• Performs in accordance with PIRC’s Core Values of integrity, adaptability, innovation, empowerment, collaboration and diversity.
• Abides by all policies and procedures established by PIRC.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Physical Requirements: 

The physical requirements described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk and use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms.
• Employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform activities such as preparing/analyzing data, viewing a computer terminal and extensive reading.
• Employee is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.

About the Organization:

The Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) is a nonprofit legal organization with a mission of providing free high quality legal services so that vulnerable immigrants and their families have access to justice and a more secure future. Since 1996, the organization seeks to ensure immigrants and their families have a voice, dignity and hope in communities across Pennsylvania. For more information, go to https://www.pirclaw.org.

Location & Work Arrangement: 

This position will require some travel to visit regional detention centers. Travel may also include occasional meetings and events across Pennsylvania to meet with partner organizations and stakeholders. PIRC's main office is located in York, Pennsylvania. This is a hybrid position, with office-wide in-person meetings required quarterly.

Benefits: 

Benefits include health, vision and dental insurance, short term disability insurance, life insurance, professional liability insurance, retirement with employer contribution, and generous paid time off.

Why PIRC: 

For immigrants in our community and in detention, the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) provides a unique combination of immigration legal services, advocacy, and education that provide protections to the most vulnerable immigrants in Pennsylvania. PIRC is an experienced provider of free, accessible, multilingual immigration services that empower, protect, and transform lives. 

The staff at PIRC is its greatest strength. We strive to create a collaborative environment that encourages the sharing of ideas and victories, no matter how large or small. PIRC offers a comprehensive benefits package for full-time staff including a simple IRA with employer match and generous paid leave and flexible policies reflecting the organization’s ongoing commitment to self-care. Members of PIRC are passionate, intelligent, and hardworking individuals all committed to the common cause of providing access to justice for immigrants.

To Apply: 

Please send a cover letter, résumé and 2-3 professional references to Andrew Baranoski, Executive Director, at employment@pirclaw.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled. The Hiring Committee will begin screening résumés upon receipt. Note: Applicants will be notified prior to contacting references.

Commitment to Inclusion: The Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center provides support and services to communities across PA and is committed to a workplace that reflects the diversity of those we serve. All applicants and employees of different backgrounds and perspectives, regardless of race, religion, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability, veteran status, or any other quality that makes them exceptional, are valued and treated as equals.