The Department of Justice archived a lawsuit today against Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for discriminating against asylum seekers and refugees in hiring. The suit alleges that from at least September 2018 until 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).
In job offers and public statements over several years, SpaceX wrongly claimed that under federal regulations known as “export control laws,” SpaceX could only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, sometimes called “holders of the green card”. Export control laws do not impose such procurement restrictions. In addition, asylees and refugees’ permission to live and work in the United States does not expire, and they are 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 jobs they would hire US citizens and legal permanent residents. And once hired, asylees and refugees can access export-controlled information and materials without additional government approval, just like US citizens and lawful permanent residents.
“Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to consider and fairly hire asylum seekers and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on hiring them regardless of their qualifications, in violation of federal law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Our investigation also found that SpaceX recruiters and senior officials took actions that actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking employment opportunities with the company. Asylees and refugees have overcome many obstacles in their lives, and illegal employment discrimination based on their citizenship status should not be one of them.Through this lawsuit, we will hold SpaceX accountable for its illegal employment practices and seek relief that allows the asylees and refugees to compete fairly for employment opportunities and contribute their talents to the SpaceX workforce.
The department’s lawsuit alleges that SpaceX discriminated against asylees and refugees based on citizenship status at various stages of the hiring process. For example:
- SpaceX discouraged asylum seekers and refugees from applying for open jobs, through public advertisements, job applications and other online recruitment communications that excluded asylum seekers and refugees.
- SpaceX did not fairly consider applications submitted by asylum seekers and refugees.
- SpaceX refused to hire qualified asylum and refugee applicants and repeatedly rejected asylum and refugee applicants based on their citizenship status.
- SpaceX hired only US citizens and legal permanent residents from September 2018 to September 2020.
SpaceX recruits and hires for a variety of positions, including welders, cooks, crane operators, baristas, and dishwashers, as well as information technology specialists, software engineers, business analysts, rocket engineers, and marketing professionals. The jobs at issue in the lawsuit are not limited to those requiring advanced degrees.
Asylees and refugees are migrants to the United States who have fled persecution. To obtain their status, they undergo a thorough investigation by the United States government. Under the INA, employers cannot discriminate against them in hiring unless a law, regulation, executive order, or government contract requires the employer to do so. In this case, no law, regulation, executive order or government contract required or permitted SpaceX to engage in the widespread discrimination against asylees or refugees that the department’s investigation found, as detailed in the complaint.
Because SpaceX works with certain products, software, technology and technical data (referred to herein as export controlled items), SpaceX must comply with export control laws and regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and the Export administration regulations. Under these regulations, asylees, refugees, lawful permanent residents, U.S. citizens, and U.S. nationals working for U.S. companies may access export-controlled items without authorization from the U.S. government. Therefore, these laws do not require SpaceX to treat asylees and refugees any differently than US citizens or green card holders. Find more information here on how employers can avoid discrimination when complying with export control requirements.
The United States is seeking fair consideration and back pay for asylees and refugees who were barred or denied employment at SpaceX due to alleged discrimination. The United States is also seeking civil penalties in an amount to be determined by the court and policy changes to ensure compliance with the INA’s nondiscrimination mandate in the future.
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