Closing Date: 22nd October, 2025

Description:

Summary:
Join the fast-paced federal litigation practitioners of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) Labor and Employment Law Division (LELD) and leverage your legal experience to protect the homeland.

This position is located in Washington, D.C.

This position may offer up to $50,000 in signing and retention bonuses.

Duties:
OPLA is the largest legal program in DHS, employing nearly 2,000 attorneys nationwide. OPLA provides a full range of legal services to all ICE programs and offices.

LELD's mission is to serve the agency by fostering best practices in compliance with federal personnel law and to effectively represent the agency in litigation. LELD provides advice and guidance to ICE supervisors and managers on a variety of topics relating to personnel management. This includes employee relations issues, such as conduct and performance. LELD also assists ICE managers with taking adverse actions; provides advice throughout all stages of an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint, including mediation; and serves as points of contact in matters involving the Office of Special Counsel.

LELD also represents ICE before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and the EEO Commission. It works with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to defend Title VII, Equal Pay Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Rehabilitation Act claims in federal courts; compensation claims pending before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims; and petitions for review of MSPB decisions pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The duties of the LELD Deputy Chief include:

supervising attorneys at ICE Headquarters and assisting the Division Chief in the general management of the division;
providing legal advice, guidance and training on substantive employment law topics and policy;
ensuring the quality of attorney written work product;
overseeing litigation before the MSPB and EEO Commission and litigation support to DOJ;
working with OPLA and ICE leadership on employment matters;
representing OPLA in meetings with the DHS's Office of the General Counsel and other DHS components; and
Strategic planning.

Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:

You must successfully pass a background investigation and drug screen for federal employment.
If you are a male born after 12/31/59, you must certify registration with the Selective Service.
You must have relevant experience (see How You Will Be Evaluated and Qualifications tabs).
You must meet all requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
You may be required to serve a two-year trial period, if the requirement has not been met.
You must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a U.S. state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Qualifications:
Unless otherwise noted, you must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by 11:59 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time on 10/22/2025. Please note that qualification claims will be subject to verification.

Applicants must possess the following characteristics and competencies: leadership integrity, organizational skills, communication skills, reliability, perseverance, decisiveness, initiative, professionalism, discretion, the ability to function independently and as part of a team, interpersonal relationship skills including managing conflict and fostering productive relationships with internal and external partners, outstanding written and oral advocacy skills, and a superior knowledge of employment law. The applicant selected will be given significant responsibilities on an immediate basis. Prior supervisory experience is preferred but is not required.

Bar Membership: You must be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 C.F.R. 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 C.F.R. 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs.

Education:
Applicants must be graduates of an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) or LLM degree.

Additional Information:
Promotion Potential: This position is at the full performance level.

Bargaining Unit Status: This is a non-bargaining unit position.

E-Verify: DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities.

Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.

Veterans' Preference: There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the Excepted Service; however, OPLA considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in attorney hiring.

Financial Disclosure: If you are hired, you may be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days after appointment.

Suitability: If you receive a conditional offer of employment, you must complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.

Background Investigation: DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet these standards, all selected applicants must undergo a background investigation and successfully obtain and maintain a security clearance at the top secret level as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and tax obligations, and a review of certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs.

Drug Test: Pursuant to Executive Order 12564 and the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan, ICE is committed to maintaining a drug-free workplace. All applicants tentatively selected for employment are subject to pre-employment drug testing and a final offer of employment is contingent upon a negative result.

A student loan repayment incentive may be available, in which case a service agreement will be required.

OPLA will ensure that applicants with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations when appropriate. If reasonable accommodation is required for any part of the application process, please contact the OPLA representative listed on this announcement.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

To apply for this position, you must complete the Occupational Questionnaire https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12810647 and submit the required documentation outlined under the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section below.
The complete initial Application must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 10/22/2025 to receive consideration.

To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log into your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the occupational questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Answers button at the end of the process. It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Note: To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account, select Application Status, and click on the more information link under the applicat