Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) is leading an investigation into President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) over allegations that foreign workers are given preferential treatment over U.S. nationals in employment discrimination cases. ing.
in letter Mr. Vance, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Ariz.), and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) told Justice Department officials that the Department of Justice is pursuing employment discrimination cases in which foreign workers are alleged victims. He suggested that there is an increasing emphasis on
Meanwhile, since Mr. Biden took office in late January 2021, the number of cases in which Americans are alleged to have been victims of employment discrimination has decreased to a small percentage.
“We will ensure that the Department of Justice is faithfully fulfilling its legal obligations to protect American workers from employment practices that privilege asylum seekers, parolees, and other aliens over American citizens. We write this letter: Recent reports suggest that this practice is widespread, but the Office for Civil Rights is nowhere to be found,” the senators wrote.
as you know, U.S. citizens are “protected individuals” who cannot be discriminated against by employers under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In fact, they are not only protected, but even preferred. The INA states that “It is not an unfair immigration-related employment practice for a person or other entity to preferentially hire, hire, or refer a person who is a U.S. citizen or a national over another person who is a foreign national.” It stipulates that there is no. If both are well qualified for the position. Therefore, federal law directs employers to set standards that are favorable to U.S. workers. As one federal appeals court put it, “If there is an alien with exactly the same qualifications as a U.S. citizen, then you are employing a U.S. citizen.” [Emphasis added]
Therefore, officials tasked with enforcing the INA’s citizenship prohibition on discrimination would be expected to be at least as concerned about U.S. citizen victims as they are about foreign nationals. But if that’s true, the truth has been obscured by recent events. [Emphasis added]
In particular, the senators noted that the Department of Justice’s Immigration and Employee Rights Division (IER) has issued 46 press releases over the past two years regarding enforcement of the INA’s anti-discrimination provisions.
Fewer than two in 10 of these press releases concerned employment discrimination against U.S. citizens, and only two concerned discrimination against U.S. citizens only.
“Thus, all else being equal, it would appear that a disproportionate share of the IER’s resources are being devoted to protecting the very workers that federal law says are objectionable.” the lawmakers wrote.
While former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department launched the U.S. Worker Protection Initiative, which specifically targets employers who treat foreign workers more favorably than U.S. nationals, Biden said in 2021 that “Buy Americans and Hire Americans” executive order, ending this project.
The senators argued that employers were taking advantage of the results.
“Employers took advantage of the IER’s leniency,” the senators wrote.
Working with advocacy groups like the Refugee Tent Partnership, many American employers have begun to blatantly discriminate on the basis of citizenship and immigration status, even committing to hiring quotas. Starbucks has pledged to hire 10,000 refugees across all its markets (including the U.S. market), Amazon has pledged to hire 5,000 refugees in the U.S. alone, and others including Hyatt Hotels, PepsiCo, and Pfizer. A number of companies have also pledged to employ 500 refugees. that’s all. The INA prohibits hiring decisions made “on account of” an American job applicant’s American citizenship. Can an employer’s hiring quota be reconciled with its obligations? [Emphasis added]
Some companies, like Tyson Foods, offer employment benefits only to noncitizens. Tyson spent a large amount of “repayment”[ing] team members who pay citizenship application fees,” and sustaining organizations that “provide immigrants with legal services such as employment permit renewals and citizenship applications.” In theory, these benefits could be available to anyone. But how many American citizens have to pay a citizenship application fee to their employer? [Emphasis added]
The senators are asking the Justice Department by May 31 for records on whether the department is currently investigating employers who hire refugees rather than Americans.
The senators also questioned the percentage of employment discrimination investigations, settlements, and lawsuits over the past two years that involved only U.S. citizens, and whether the department believes it is legal to provide employment benefits only to foreign workers. We are also seeking answers as to whether there are any.
Vance has long warned against the perception that the Biden administration is giving preferential treatment to foreign workers over American citizens.
Last August, Breitbart News published a report to bring transparency regarding the Justice Department’s lawsuit against SpaceX, which accuses Elon Musk’s rocket company of not “fairly considering or hiring asylum seekers and refugees.” exclusively details Vance’s efforts.
Next month, SpaceX countersued The Department of Justice abandons the lawsuit.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Please email jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
