Spring or Summer 2025 Graduate Intern, Immigrants' Rights Project

The ACLU seeks a Legal Intern for the Immigrants' Rights Program of the ACLU’s National office in New York, NY or San Francisco, CA.

The Team:

The Immigrants’ Rights Project is part of the Legal Department of the national ACLU and has offices in New York and San Francisco. For over 30 years, the Project has litigated in trial and appellate courts across the country, including the Supreme Court, to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of immigrants and seek equal justice under the law. Our work has focused on due process, access to the courts, unfair detention, equal treatment, and state and local laws and policies. For example, we have challenged family separation; the Muslim ban; multiple attacks on the asylum system; indefinite and mandatory detention; immigration detainers; state and local anti-immigrant laws, including Arizona’s SB 1070; racial and language profiling connected to immigration enforcement; and attempts to eliminate judicial review. We work closely with partners at the national ACLU and affiliates, as well as allied organizations, to pursue litigation and to engage in and support other forms of advocacy and education.

The internship is open to students enrolled at U.S. law schools who will have completed at least one year of law school before the internship commences. For Summer internships, our office generally limits internships to those who will have finished their second year of law school by the time they start the internship. Students who will have finished only their first year may also be considered, depending on remaining summer intern capacity. 

What You'll Do:

• Drafting memoranda, affidavits, and briefs
• Conducting legal and policy research
• Researching prospects for new litigation, including both factual and legal claims
• Researching and drafting materials for public education
• Legislative bill tracking and analysis
• Center principles of equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work, embedding the values in program development, policy application, and organizational practices and processes

What You'll Bring: 

• Excellent research skills, including conducting internet and legal database research
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and writing
• Attention to detail, excellent organizing and time-management skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
• The initiative to see projects through to completion
• A commitment to civil liberties, civil rights, and social justice
• Commitment to the mission of the ACLU

Internship Logistics:

• Location: Our offices are currently operating in reduced capacities. We do not require interns to be in-person but can work out a hybrid schedule for those interested.
• Time Commitment: Term-time internships require a full-time commitment of 35 hours per week or a part-time commitment of 20 hours per week.
• Internship Duration: Full-time internships extend for a 10-week period and part-time for a 12-week period. 
  • Summer internships require a full-time commitment. Start date: May 27 or June 9, 2025
  • Spring internships can be either full or part time. Start date: January 13 or January 27, 2025
• Stipend: A stipend may be available for those students who are lawfully authorized to work. Arrangements can be made with educational institutions for work/study or course credit. Below is the stipend breakdown:
  • $24/hour for law students.

Application timeline & Instructions

• Spring or Fall:  Applications for Spring or Fall internships will be reviewed on a rolling basis, beginning approximately five months before the internship would start.
• Summer:  Review for Summer internship will begin in October on a rolling basis. The hiring team will review applications until at least November 1st and will hold at least one internship position open in each of the New York and California offices until then.  
• Cover Letter:
  • In their cover letter please describe your interest in immigrants’ rights and civil liberties, including any relevant life or work experience gained before or during law school. 
  • Please specify your desired office location (New York or San Francisco), If you are interested in both offices, please indicate that you have done so in your cover letter.
  • Please include a writing sample along with your application.

Future ACLU-ers Will:

     • Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
     • Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
     • Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflict.

Why the ACLU:

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

Our Commitment to Accessibility, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  

Accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change. We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us. 

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. 

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.