(NewsNation) — The U.S. Department of Justice sued SpaceX on Thursday, alleging the spacecraft company founded by Elon Musk discriminated against asylees and refugees in its hiring practices.
The lawsuit says SpaceX violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it "wrongly claimed" that the company could only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents under federal regulations known as export control laws. However, those laws impose no such restrictions, the DOJ said in a release.
Due to their citizenship status, asylees and refugees had "virtually no chance" of being "fairly considered" or hired for a job at the company, the lawsuit says.
"Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their hire regardless of their qualification, in violation of federal law,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said in a statement.
Clarke said the investigation found the company's recruiters and "high-level officials" took actions that "actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking work opportunities at the company."
The lawsuit includes a tweet from June 16, 2020, in which Musk wrote: "U.S. law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are advanced weapons technology."
The jobs at issue were not limited to "those that required advanced degrees," according to the DOJ.
From September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX hired only one individual who was an asylee out of 10,000 hires, prosecutors allege.
The DOJ is seeking "fair consideration" and back pay for asylees and refugees who were deterred or denied employment due to the alleged discrimination. The company could also face additional civil penalties.
NewsNation has reached out to SpaceX for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Read the DOJ's lawsuit below.
SpaceX Complaint by NewsNation Digital on Scribd