By Maysa Eissa, Esq. Associate Director of Career Services
Cameron Oxberry (1L) will join the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Principal Legal Advisor (“OPLA”) in Los Angeles as a legal intern this summer. This flagship office is the largest legal program within the Department of Homeland Security, providing legal advice, training and services to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Oxberry will join OPLA attorneys in their litigation efforts against convicted felons and human rights abusers who have illegally entered the United States. Also, Oxberry will have the opportunity to work with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multiagency unit that combats domestic terrorism. Towards the end of the ten-week program, Oxberry will take charge of his own case from initial stages to completion. He will investigate, research and represent the U.S. government in a deportation proceeding.
Upon earning his bachelor’s degree in International Business and Management at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA, Cameron Oxberry went on to serve as the finance director for The Automotive Group, a San Diego based car dealership chain. Despite the lucrative aspects of this career, Oxberry transitioned to a position with the U.S. Border Patrol in 2009, where he specialized in border intelligence. Having spent his freshman year at a Mexico City high school, he utilized his Spanish fluency on the U.S./Mexico border. In August, 2010, Oxberry was awarded “Agent of the Quarter” for his sector when he dove into fast moving water and saved two car crash victims from drowning. While serving in the Intelligence Unit, he played an integral part in the uncovering of an Eastern European child trafficking operation. Throughout his career, he also apprehended thousands of pounds of narcotics illegally entering the U.S. Due to these experiences, Oxberry realized the tremendous impact he could have in ensuring that individuals arrested for the most egregious crimes, including rape, child molestation, murder and terrorism, are prosecuted and subsequently convicted for their crimes. Currently, Oxberry is a TJSL Criminal Law Fellow and a member of Phi Alpha Delta. Upon graduation from law school, Oxberry hopes to either serve as a federal prosecutor or continue to combat human trafficking with Homeland Security Investigations.
“I am very excited for the opportunity to learn from such a diverse and passionate group of individuals who work each day to keep us safe from those who have harmed us or may do us harm. Working with Homeland Security’s Office of Principal Legal Advisor will give me exposure to the different practice areas, including the Human Rights division, Labor and Employment Law Division, and of course, the Homeland Security Investigations Law Division.”
To learn more about the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Principal Legal Advisor, visit: www.ice.gov/contact/opla.
Oxberry secured this internship through the 2013 Southern California Public Interest Career Day. Registration details for the 2014 Southern California Public Interest Career Day will be available in December.
