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The Department of Justice has indicated they will dismiss their lawsuit against SpaceX, which alleged the company discriminated against refugees and asylees in its hiring practices.
Some shit you should know before you read: Back in 2023, the Department of Justice launched a lawsuit against SpaceX, claiming the company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices against refugees and asylees from September 2018 to May 2022, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The DOJ alleged that SpaceX routinely discouraged these individuals from applying for jobs by falsely stating in job postings that only US citizens or permanent residents could be hired, impacting a wide range of positions. Federal prosecutors argued that this practice unlawfully excluded qualified candidates based solely on their citizenship status. At the time, Elon Musk defended SpaceX’s hiring policies, arguing that international arms trafficking regulations (ITAR) legally prohibited the company from hiring non-permanent residents due to the advanced weapons technology involved in rocket manufacturing, calling the lawsuit politically motivated and unjust.
What’s going on now: In a court filing, the DOJ indicated that it plans to dismiss its lawsuit against SpaceX, requesting that a federal judge in Texas lift the stay on the case for 30 days to allow the Civil Rights Division to file a notice of dismissal with prejudice. The filing stated, “If the administrative proceeding has been dismissed by the end of the 30-day period, Defendants will promptly move to dismiss this case on mootness grounds, and SpaceX will not oppose that relief.” This move effectively ends the legal battle that began in 2023 over allegations of discriminatory hiring practices against refugees and asylees.
Elon Musk reacted to the DOJ’s decision by criticizing the lawsuit as politically motivated, calling it an “insane case of lawfare” against SpaceX. He argued that SpaceX was caught in a legal paradox, stating, “The Biden administration launched a massive multi-year lawsuit against SpaceX for not hiring asylum seekers, despite the fact that SpaceX is legally BARRED from hiring non-permanent residents under ITAR, because rockets are an advanced weapons technology.”
Musk added, “In other words, it was both illegal to hire asylum seekers and illegal not to hire asylum seekers!!” His response underscores his long-standing position that the lawsuit was unfair and politically driven.
