2026 Summer Intern: U.S. Asylum System Documentation

Refugees International•Washington, DC

7d•Remote

About The Position

Refugees International is seeking a Summer 2026 Intern focused on the U.S. asylum system, community documentation, and storytelling. The intern will support RI’s work to document the experiences of asylum seekers, immigrant communities, advocates, service providers, and others affected by federal immigration actions. This work may include supporting community-centered research, resource and partner mapping, outreach and engagement, meeting and event coordination, and literature review on ethical documentation, community archives, oral histories, and best practices for preserving stories and evidence related to immigration enforcement and resistance. When you join us, you will be an integral contributor to a non-governmental organization that advocates for lifesaving assistance, human rights, and protection for refugees and other displaced people. Our work on the U.S. asylum system focuses on documenting the impacts of federal immigration and asylum policies, elevating the experiences of people seeking protection, and supporting advocacy that advances access to safety, dignity, and due process. Refugees International seeks great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, and we specifically encourage members of refugee, immigrant, asylum-seeking, or other displaced communities to join us.

Requirements

Be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student, or have graduated within the past year
Be seeking the internship as part of an educational experience related to the program in which you are enrolled
Have a strong interest in the U.S. asylum system, immigration policy, refugee protection, community documentation, storytelling, human rights, and humanitarian affairs
Have familiarity with immigration enforcement, asylum access, community-based advocacy, or archival/storytelling work
Have strong research, writing, organizational, communication, and administrative skills
Be interested in ethical documentation practices, including oral histories, digital evidence, written accounts, quantitative data, and community-centered approaches to preserving lived experience
Be based within the United States
Work at least 250 hours, as guided by RI staff or partners
Begin in late May 2026 and end no later than late August 2026

Nice To Haves

Lived experience is welcomed but not required

Responsibilities

Supporting RI’s documentation and research related to the U.S. asylum system, federal immigration actions, and their impacts on asylum seekers, immigrant communities, and the organizations that serve and support them
In collaboration with community partners, completing a resource and community mapping of organizations, advocates, service providers, grassroots groups, impacted communities, and other stakeholders connected to asylum access and immigration response work
Providing administrative support for active work streams, including tracking tasks, organizing materials, maintaining shared documents, supporting follow-up, and helping coordinate ongoing project needs
Supporting outreach and engagement efforts designed to expand participation by volunteers, community partners, advocates, and people with relevant lived or professional experience
Assisting with event and meeting organization, including scheduling, preparing agendas and materials, coordinating logistics, taking detailed notes, and summarizing key discussions and action items
Conducting a literature review on ethical storytelling, oral history methods, trauma-informed documentation, and data stewardship
Helping identify best practices for creating safe and community-centered spaces to preserve stories, data, written accounts, and other materials related to immigration policy and protection challenges
Monitoring relevant developments in the U.S. asylum system, immigration enforcement, and community-based responses to federal immigration actions
Drafting short memos, summaries, background materials, outreach language, and other written products as needed
Supporting other tasks as assigned