Virginia Homeland Security Task Force (VHSTF)

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Program
One-Year Extendable Detail Positions
Alexandria or Richmond Divisions

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has openings in our Alexandria and Richmond Divisions for a one-year detail to work with the Virginia Homeland Security Task Force (VHSTF). The detail may be extended. Detail start dates will be September 22, 2025 and January 5, 2026. Detailees will work on a variety of matters with a focus on violent crimes, narcotics, and immigration offenses relating to the Homeland Security Task Force’s efforts. Detailees will routinely appear before federal magistrate and district court judges, and the grand jury. They will gain substantive experience through handling all stages of the prosecution from initial appearance through trial and sentencing.

The VHSTF is an interagency group founded to combat transnational organized crime and coordinate ongoing immigration enforcement efforts across Virginia.

Hundreds of personnel are supporting the task force, including representatives from U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI’s Washington, Norfolk, and Richmond Field Offices; Homeland Security Investigations; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Marshals Service; Virginia Department of Corrections; Virginia Office of the Attorney General; Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security; Virginia State Police; and the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force.

The VHSTF is part of Operation Take Back America, which streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

One of the VHSTF’s goals is the elimination of TCOs across Virginia. Task force members seek to target these organizations’ infrastructures — including leaders, intermediaries, and street-level offenders — utilizing the State Department’s new foreign terrorist designations of various gangs, such as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13); Cártel de Sinaloa; and Tren de Aragua (TdA).

The detail will be located at (Alexandria Division) 2100 Jamieson Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, near the King Street and Eisenhower Metro Stations (blue and yellow lines), or (Richmond Division) 919 East Main Street (the Truist Center). Living accommodations and parking will not be provided.

Qualifications

Interested applicants must possess a J.D., or equivalent degree, be duly licensed and authorized to practice as an attorney under the laws of any State, territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, and be an active member of the bar in good standing. Applicants must be U.S. citizens already employed by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Government and must have obtained approval from their component or agency to apply to the detail. Prior to starting the detail, selected applicants must have successfully completed a background check.

Salary

This appointment is made on a non-reimbursable basis. The position and the funding for the salary and benefits will be provided by the SAUSA’s home employer or agency.

Application Process

Please submit one PDF file in accordance with the requirement below:

A resume, no longer than a single page, in a single combined PDF attachment using the filename format LastnameFirstname (e.g., SmithJane.pdf). A cover letter is optional.

Applications for the detail must be emailed to USAVAE.SAUSA@usdoj.gov. Applicants should indicate in the Subject Line of the email which Division (Alexandria or Richmond) they are most interested in. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all positions are filled through November 28.