Fall 2023 Internship

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project seeks applications for fall internship positions to join the Tacoma office. Interns will be asked to commit to 10 hours per week for a period of 3 months. We are looking for interns for the following internship period: September to December 2023.

Additional languages spoken are a plus but not required.

The internships are unpaid, but NWIRP will work with applicants to secure outside funding or academic credit when possible and if applicable. Interns will have direct exposure to a fast-paced work environment centered on immigration law and advocacy.

Full consideration will be given to applications received by June 23th, 2023.

NWIRP's Tacoma office provides legal services to up to 1,575 immigrants detained at the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC), 85% of whom are unrepresented. The Tacoma office also provides services to immigrants in the Tacoma and South Sound area as they navigate the immigration systems.

Tacoma & South Unit (TSU) – TSU provides direct representation, pro se assistance, outreach, and education to non-detained individuals throughout Tacoma, South Sound, Olympic Peninsula, and southwestern Washington. TSU attorneys and legal advocates represent children before Washington State Courts and USCIS in applications for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) and asylum. They also represent children and adults in diverse applications before the Seattle Immigration Court, including asylum, and before USCIS, including relief for survivors of violent crimes and human trafficking.

Legal Orientation Program (LOP) – LOP provides pro se legal orientation and assistance to individuals detained at the NWIPC through individual intakes and group Know Your Rights presentations. LOP offers detained immigrants basic information about forms of relief from removal (deportation) and how to navigate the court process, represent themselves in immigration court (proceed pro se), and obtain legal representation. In addition to working with pro se detained individuals, LOP attorneys and accredited representatives also provide direct representation to detained clients in removal proceedings before the Tacoma Immigration Court.

Detained Immigrant Advocates (DIA) Unit – DIA provides direct representation to detained immigrants in removal proceedings before the Tacoma Immigration Court in bond and merits proceedings. DIA attorneys and legal representatives represent clients in a variety of reliefs before the Tacoma Immigration Court, including applications for asylum and other fear-based relief, cancellation of removal, waivers, and adjustment of status, and before USCIS, including applications for survivors of violent crimes and human trafficking.

The Tacoma office processes the following case types: Asylum, Withholding of Removal, Protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), Cancellation of Removal for Permanent Residents, Cancellation of Removal for Non-Permanent Residents, Self-petitions under VAWA, U visas, T visas, VAWA applications for adjustment of status, and removal defense for survivors of violence.