POSITION: Farmworker Legal Services (FLS), is a growing and nationally recognized non-profit law office, seeking a bilingual (Spanish/English) staff attorney to join its dynamic and committed team working directly with migrant and seasonal agricultural workers and community groups to provide civil legal services to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers throughout Michigan. The position will have an emphasis on farmworkers’ immigration cases—such as filing labor-based deferred action, T or U-visa applications for victims of employment-based crimes, and matters involving H-2A visa—and will include significant outreach and collaboration with local and national community partners. This position is union supported and based out of our Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, or Ypsilanti office with a flexible remote work schedule option.

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM: Farmworker Legal Services (FLS) is the statewide division of the Michigan Advocacy Program (MAP) that fights for justice and dignity alongside the farmworker community through our systemic, multi-forum legal advocacy, community engagement, and direct legal representation of farmworkers in their civil legal matters. FLS currently has 7 permanent staff and 6 summer seasonal advocates who provide a full range of civil legal services to Michigan’s eligible population of migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their dependents. Staff are based out of Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Ypsilanti offices and prioritize cases including wage theft, trafficking, discrimination, sexual harassment, workplace health and safety, housing, civil rights, and labor-based immigration relief. MAP works to advance the safety, independence, and economic stability of those most affected by poverty, racism, and other structurally oppressive systems by increasing access to justice and working for systemic solutions. MAP has provided civil legal aid for those unable to afford an attorney for more than 50 years, serving 13 counties through five legal aid offices and managing 6 statewide programs that serve farmworkers (Farmworker Legal Services), immigrant communities (Michigan Immigrant Rights Center), vulnerable older adults (Michigan Elder Justice Initiative), victims of domestic violence and elder abuse (Crime Victims Legal Assistance Program), legal aid advocates through research and training support (Michigan Poverty Law Program), and self-represented litigants (Michigan Legal Help Program). MAP has a staff of about 220 people in offices in Battle Creek, Detroit, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Monroe, and Ypsilanti. Visit www.miadvocacy.org and www.farmworkerlaw.org for more information.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must be licensed to practice law in Michigan, qualify to be admitted by waiver, or able to take the next available bar exam in Michigan; have mission-aligned work or lived experience and a demonstrated commitment to advocating in low-income or immigrant communities; have experience supporting immigrants with compiling documents and filling out applications for immigration relief; be willing to work a flexible schedule that may occasionally include travel or evening and weekend outreach; possess excellent Spanish and English communication and time management skills; and be committed to social, racial, and economic justice and FLS’ mission.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Priority will be given to applicants who have experience navigating the U.S. immigration system, including a working knowledge of labor-based immigration relief, specifically labor-based deferred action, U-Visas, and T-Visas; have proficiency in Haitian Creole or indigenous languages native to Mexico or Central America; have familiarity with or interest in learning employment and labor law as it relates to immigration relief; demonstrated success working effectively in teams and independently to meet multiple deadlines; familiarity with farmworker advocacy, employment and immigration law, or legal services and advocacy; be willing to work a flexible schedule that may occasionally include travel or evening and weekend outreach; and possess excellent communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Staff Attorney will work closely with FLS staff and community partners to build and deepen our use of labor-based immigration relief. The attorney will provide farmworkers involved in labor disputes and survivors of sexual assault employment-based crimes with comprehensive, trauma-informed legal consultations and representation in their immigration matters and may provide representation in other matters such as employment, housing, public benefits, and unemployment as expertise allows. The Attorney will represent farmworkers in their immigration-related matters, such as filing requests for deferred action based on labor enforcement (DALE) and T or U-visa applications for victims of employment-based crimes, and will supervise paralegals and interns working on immigration matters.

BENEFITS: Salary starts at $62,424 based on years of relevant experience. MAP offers a generous benefits package including life, short and long term disability, health, vision, dental and flexible spending accounts. If an applicant does not require health benefits, they have the option to take an annual $1,500 payout in addition to the base salary paid over the course of the year. MAP also has a generous leave policy allowing staff to accrue 3 weeks paid vacation the first year and 13 paid holidays, as well as a 401K retirement plan including employer match for eligible staff after 6 months of employment. MAP is a qualifying employer for Public Service Loan Forgiveness and the position includes LRAP (Loan Repayment Assistance Program) eligibility. MAP is a unionized program. Kalamazoo is a college town in southwest Michigan, located 35 miles east of Lake Michigan and two hours from Chicago and Detroit, that offers the Kalamazoo Promise (an independent scholarship program that provides students who graduate from Kalamazoo Public Schools up to up to 100% tuition for post-secondary education).

TO APPLY: Please complete this application and submit your resume and cover letter describing your level of Spanish competency and how your personal background or experiences have prepared you to work effectively alongside diverse colleagues and the farmworker community. You can also access the application by copying and pasting the following web address into your browser: https://miadvocacy.bamboohr.com/careers/94. The position is open until filled; applications received by April 10, 2024 will receive priority.

The Michigan Advocacy Program is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.