Criminal Justice Reform and Crimmigration Research Intern (Fall 2026)

FWD.us•Oakland, CA

13d•Hybrid

About The Position

FWD.us is a policy organization working to advance better and more politically resilient solutions on criminal justice and immigration. Our criminal justice reform and crimmigration research team is seeking a detail-oriented critical thinker with strong research and writing skills for a paid, 25-30 hour per week internship supporting our work. This is an opportunity to conduct research, build valuable communications skills, and learn how a dynamic advocacy team operates in a fast-paced environment while supporting our organization’s larger strategic goals. People who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system are encouraged to apply. Candidates should be available to work 25-30 hours per week between the hours of 9:30am to 5:30pm PST for 4-6 months. Interns are paid $21/hr, plus benefits. This position will be expected to work on-site in the Oakland, CA office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and work remotely on Wednesdays and Fridays – final schedule to be determined dependent upon candidate’s availability and hours. The preferred start date for this position is early-mid September 2026. For priority consideration, please submit a resume, a cover letter and contact information for two references on or before August 14, 2026.

Requirements

Strong quantitative analysis skills, including confidence working with spreadsheets in Excel or Google Sheets.
Dedication to the mission of FWD.us and an interest in advancing impactful criminal justice and immigration reform policies.
Must have a strong interest in policy, government, and/or community organizing.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to adapt to new conditions, assignments, and deadlines.
Ability to work effectively, both independently and as part of a collaborative team.
Strong verbal and written communications skills.

Nice To Haves

Prior experience in quantitative research strongly preferred.
Previous experience undertaking data cleaning and analysis in Stata or comparable statistical programming software.
Knowledge of criminal justice system data.
Knowledge of immigration court, arrest, detention data.
Previous experience with data scraping and other public data acquisition methods.
Any additional language skills (particularly Spanish, Portuguese, French).

Responsibilities

Participate in ongoing quantitative research, writing, data collection, and analysis.
Support the research team in verifying research claims for public-facing documents.
Engage in legislative and background research on laws, policies, academic research, and publicly-available data.
Assist with monitoring media outlets, legislative news, and other public information sources to inform timely and relevant products.
Draft memos and backgrounders that highlight research findings for use in internal and public-facing documents.
Assist with administrative tasks when necessary.