The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for discriminating against asylees and refugees in hiring. The lawsuit alleges that, from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for discriminating against asylees and refugees in hiring. The lawsuit alleges that, from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

  • stopthatgirl7OP
    43•11 months ago

    From the link:

    In job postings and public statements over several years, SpaceX wrongly claimed that under federal regulations known as “export control laws,” SpaceX could hire only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, sometimes referred to as “green card holders.” Export control laws impose no such hiring restrictions. Moreover, asylees’ and refugees’ permission to live and work in the United States does not expire, and they stand on equal footing with U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents under export control laws. Under these laws, companies like SpaceX can hire asylees and refugees for the same positions they would hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. And once hired, asylees and refugees can access export-controlled information and materials without additional government approval, just like U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.

    • Designate
      4•11 months ago

      uuuuuhhhh, TIL Must be a new thing cause i do remember is 100% was a thing to protect aerospace secrets.

      • Hillock
        27•11 months ago

        It’s easy to misinterpret the law because it states you can only hire U.S. Persons without requiring approval. And naturally people would assume U.S. Persons means citizens. But the term also includes permanent residents, asylees, and refugees.

        So SpaceX can’t hire immigrants on a temporary visa without a lot of effort. But refugees and asylees are explicitly allowed to work at such companies.

      • hypelightfly
        16•11 months ago

        It’s not new. Refugees and people with asylum are considered US persons, it’s literally written into the law (ITAR) protecting aerospace secrets.

        • Designate
          4•11 months ago

          Wow so every doco i have read/watched on the space race has interpreted the law incorrectly.

          • hypelightfly
            18•11 months ago

            It’s not an interpretation. It’s defined in relatively simple to understand English.

            U.S. Person - a natural person who is a lawful permanent resident as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20) or who is a protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

            Relevant portion of 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3):

            [A protected person] is an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence, is granted the status of an alien lawfully admitted for temporary residence under section 1160(a) or 1255a(a)(1) of this title, is admitted as a refugee under section 1157 of this title, or is granted asylum under section 1158 of this title;

      • stopthatgirl7OP
        7•11 months ago

        This is literally from the Department of Justice, so I’m assuming they know the laws about these things.