Children’s Legal Services Intern – Fall 2024

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Background: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Scope of work: The Children’s Legal Services (CLS) program in Silver Spring provides legal representation to unaccompanied children. To be eligible for services, an unaccompanied child (UC) must be under the age of 18 at the time they enter the CLSprogram, have no immigration status, and, have been officially designated as anunaccompanied child by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The CLS team helps the UCunderstand the immigration systems, prepare them for hearings, evaluate and advise them onthe types of immigration applications they can file, and assist them with preparing their filings. Many cases involve representation at Maryland Immigration Courts as well as hearings in Maryland State Court. 

Responsibilities:

• Support in building and fostering relationships with clients by being part of clientmeetings, drafting supporting documents, and assisting with translation andinterpreter services.

• Provide administrative support to the Children’s Legal Services team, including checking for upcoming court hearings, communicating regularly with clients,preparing applications, and support in filing with appropriate agencies.

• Perform research on immigration issues, country conditions, case law, and otherrelevant projects.

• Obtain certificates of completion for attending virtual immigration law trainingsand webinars.

• Assist the Silver Spring CLS Team by coordinating with other IRC MD programs to getadditional support for unaccompanied children who need case managementassistance such as educational resources.

Learning Objectives:

• Legal Intern will gain exposure and understand various immigration processesand immigration humanitarian reliefs available to unaccompanied children.

• Legal Intern will gain exposure to MDfamily courts and procedures.

• Legal Intern will learn how to manage client cases within established deadlines.

• Legal Intern will develop problem solving skills, client services skills, andintercultural social work skills.

Standard of Professional Conduct:The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.