Summer Internship at Florence Project

The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project
Summer Intern Positions

About the Florence Project
The Florence Project is a nonprofit legal service organization that provides free legal services to men, women and children detained in Arizona by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Although the government assists indigent criminal defendants and civil litigants through public defenders and legal aid attorneys, it does not provide attorneys for people facing deportation charges. As a result, 90 percent of the detained people go unrepresented due to poverty. The Florence Project strives to address this inequity both locally and nationally.
Summer Interns
The Florence Project is nationally known for its delivery of unique legal services. Interns will work directly with detained adults or unaccompanied minors in immigration proceedings under the supervision of a staff attorney. S/he will work directly with clients on a daily basis, conducting intake interviews and assisting with applications for relief including asylum and cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents. Law student interns may have the opportunity to represent individuals in bond hearings before an immigration judge and possibly represent individuals in final merits hearings.

Qualifications

The Florence Project typically hosts three law student interns for the duration of the summer.  We are seeking interns who have a demonstrated commitment to immigration issues and public interest law and enjoy working in a collaborative, fast-paced and exciting work environment.  Fluency in Spanish required.  Prior advocacy or academic experience in immigration law would be helpful.  While we prefer to host second year law students, first year students are welcome to apply.

Our summer internship positions are unpaid but we provide the use of a volunteer car and free housing in Florence.  Florence is located approximately one hour south of Phoenix and an hour and fifteen minutes north of Tucson in the middle of the Sonoran desert.  Living in this area over the summer provides many opportunities for cultural and outdoor excursions in Arizona and the border region.

Application Process
Please send a cover letter, resume and three references to Lindsay Marshall, Executive Director at lmarshall@firrp.org or P.O. Box 654, Florence, AZ 85232.  We prefer applications by e-mail.

The Florence Project recognizes the value of diversity in the workplace and strongly encourages applications from people of color, LGBT individuals, persons with disabilities and members of under-represented or disadvantaged communities to apply.

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