Internship Opportunities

Please note that as of January 18, 2017, the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices has been renamed the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER).

DOJ, Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER)

IER enforces a federal law that protects work-authorized immigrants and U.S. citizens from employment discrimination. IER seeks volunteer interns year-round, including for the fall semester, winter/spring semester, and for the summer. Interns must be currently enrolled in an academic program and cannot have graduated from their program before the end of the internship. School-year internships with IER may be full-time or part-time, and summer internships are typically full-time. Positions with the Department of Justice are open to U.S. citizens only. Below please find a description of the different types of internship positions and application deadlines.

Summer, Fall, and Spring Law Student Internships

IER seeks law student interns to work alongside attorneys, equal opportunity specialists, and paralegals. The position involves assisting staff in litigation and investigation of employment discrimination, including conducting legal research, reviewing documents, preparing legal memoranda, and participating in and/or conducting witness interviews. The position may also involve policy-related work, such as preparing comments on proposed regulations and draft legislation, conducting policy research, and attending interagency meetings.

The position is unpaid and IER prefers that students work for a duration of at least 10 weeks. The ideal candidate has strong research, writing and communication skills as well as an interest in learning about IER's work. Demonstrated interest or experience in immigration or employment discrimination is preferred but not required.

As applications are considered on a rolling basis, IER may conclude its selection process several months before the dates indicated below. Thus you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible. Please note that we can accommodate students with varying start/end dates, such as those on the quarter system. Application deadlines for law student internships are:

• Spring internship (January - April): apply by December 1st
• Summer internship (May/June - August): apply by March 1st (note: we often receive applications as early as September of the year before).
• Fall internship (August/September - December): apply by May 1st

If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, transcript, three references, and a short writing sample to IER's internship opportunities email at crt.volunteervacancies-IER@usdoj.gov. For more information about IER, please visit www.justice.gov/ier.

Summer, Fall, and Spring Paralegal Student Internships

IER seeks paralegal student interns enrolled in paralegal degree programs to work alongside attorneys, equal opportunity specialists, and paralegals. The position involves assisting staff in litigating and investigating allegations of discrimination. Duties include: reviewing documents, compiling data, drafting letters, checking citations, conducting short research assignments, assisting with court filings, gathering and finalizing exhibits for motions, assisting to prepare witness interviews and depositions, and participating in witness interviews.

The position is unpaid and IER prefers that students work for a duration of at least 10 weeks. The ideal candidate has strong research, writing and communication skills as well as an interest in learning about IER's work. Demonstrated interest or experience in immigration or employment discrimination is preferred but not required.

As applications are considered on a rolling basis, at times IER may conclude its selection process several months before the dates indicated below. Thus you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible. Please note that we can accommodate students with varying start/end dates, such as those on the quarter system. Application deadlines for paralegal student internships are:

• Spring internship (January - April): apply by December 1st
• Summer internship (May/June - August): apply by March 1st
• Fall internship (August/September - December): apply by June 1st

If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, transcript, three references, and a short writing sample to IER's internship opportunities email at crt.volunteervacancies-IER@usdoj.gov. For more information about IER, please visit www.justice.gov/ier.

Summer, Fall, and Spring Undergraduate Student Internships

IER seeks undergraduate student interns to work alongside attorneys, equal opportunity specialists, and paralegals. The position involves assisting staff in litigating and investigating allegations of discrimination, such as reviewing documents, compiling data, drafting letters or short memoranda, and participating in witness interviews. The position may also involve policy-related work, such as researching policy-related issues, preparing comments on proposed regulations and draft legislation, and attending legislative hearings and interagency meetings. Undergraduate student interns may also assist IER staff in drafting outreach materials, preparing for outreach presentations, and developing and implementing outreach strategies.

The position is unpaid and IER prefers that students work for a duration of at least 10 weeks. The ideal candidate has strong research, writing and communication skills as well as an interest in learning. Demonstrated interest or experience in immigration or employment discrimination preferred but not required.

As applications are considered on a rolling basis, at times IER may conclude its selection process several months before the dates indicated below. Thus you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible. Please note that we can accommodate students with varying start/end dates, such as those on the quarter system. Application deadlines for paralegal student internships are:

• Spring internship (January - April): apply by December 1st
• Summer internship (May/June - August): apply by March 1st
• Fall internship (August/September - December): apply by June 1st

If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, transcript, three references, and a short writing sample to IER's internship opportunities email at crt.volunteervacancies-IER@usdoj.gov. For more information about IER, please visit www.justice.gov/ier.

Summer, Fall, and Spring Outreach/Public Affairs Undergraduate and Graduate Student Internships

IER seeks undergraduate or graduate student interns to work with IER's outreach staff. The position involves designing and drafting outreach materials, such as flyers, brochures and PowerPoint presentations; updating and maintaining databases of outreach contacts; monitoring progress of a variety of outreach initiatives; assessing which outreach materials will be required for a particular event, preparing those materials and ensuring they are delivered in a timely manner; helping develop and administer webinars and videos for public education; developing and assessing new outreach strategies; and assisting in the development of new media and other strategic outreach initiatives.

The position is unpaid and IER prefers that students work for a duration of at least 10 weeks. The ideal candidate is creative and has strong written and verbal communication skills as well as an interest in learning about IER's work. Demonstrated interest or experience in outreach and/or public affairs preferred but not required.

As applications are considered on a rolling basis, at times IER may conclude its selection process several months before the dates indicated below. Thus you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible. Please note that we can accommodate students with varying start/end dates, such as those on the quarter system. Application deadlines for outreach/public affairs undergraduate and graduate student internships are:

• Spring internship (January - April): apply by December 1st
• Summer internship (May/June - August): apply by March 1st
• Fall internship (August/September - December): apply by June 1st

If interested, please send a cover letter, resume, transcript, three references, and a short writing sample to IER's internship opportunities email at crt.volunteervacancies-IER@usdoj.gov. For more information about IER, please visit www.justice.gov/ier.

Worker Hotline: 1-800-255-7688 [Voice] or 1-800-237-2515 [TTY]

Employer Hotline: 1-800-255-8155 [Voice] or 1-800-362-2735 [TTY]

>