The Department of Justice sued SpaceX last Thursday over allegations of discrimination, claiming that the company does not hire refugees and asylees.
The lawsuit alleges that the company “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,” per a DOJ statement.
Musk posted on Twitter in response to the lawsuit, claiming that SpaceX was being sued for doing as the federal government previously directed. He also questioned the motivation behind the lawsuit.
“SpaceX was told repeatedly that hiring anyone who was not a permanent resident of the United States would violate international arms trafficking law, which would be a criminal offense. We couldn’t even hire Canadian citizens, despite Canada being part of NORAD! This is yet another case of weaponization of the DOJ for political purposes,” Musk wrote.
In another tweet, Musk referred to U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, claiming that the laws require companies working with certain technologies to “hire people who are permanent American residents, so that the technology does not fall into the hands of countries who wish us harm.”
However, the DOJ claimed in the press release:
“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.”
The DOJ lawsuit cites a tweet Musk posted in June 2020, claiming it was evidence of unlawful discrimination.
“U.S. law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are advanced weapons technology,” Musk tweeted.
The suit claims that from September 2018 to May 2022, when SpaceX hired more than 10,000 people, only one was an asylee, and none were refugees.
The Dallas Express spoke with Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, about the lawsuit.
Krikorian claimed the DOJ is going after SpaceX because the Biden administration considers Elon Musk a political enemy.
“It is pretty clear that this is a pretextual lawsuit because anyone who gets refugee or asylum [status] gets a green card in short order,” Krikorian said.
“It’s because it’s Musk. If he hadn’t bought Twitter and reinstated Donald Trump’s account, they wouldn’t have brought this lawsuit,” he added, calling the suit “political retribution.”
In the DOJ’s statement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said, “Asylees and refugees have overcome many obstacles in their lives, and unlawful employment discrimination based on their citizenship status should not be one of them.”
When The Dallas Express reached out to the DOJ for further insights on the lawsuit, spokesperson Aryele Bradford responded, “We are declining comment beyond the complaint.”
