DOJ dropping immigration case against Musk's SpaceX
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday it is planning to drop its lawsuit against Elon Musk's SpaceX, which alleged the company discriminated against refugees and asylees during the hiring process.
In a filing Thursday, the DOJ asked a federal court in Texas to lift a pause on the proceeding of the case to allow the department's Civil Rights Division to file a dismissal notice.
"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," the filing stated.
The suit, filed in August 2023, accused SpaceX, a major aerospace company, of "routinely" discouraging refugees and those granted asylum from applying for jobs. Federal prosecutors argued SpaceX would often refuse to hire or consider them from positions, specifically due to their citizenship status.
The DOJ claimed the allegations occurred from at least September 2018 to May 2022 and violated the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The alleged discrimination extended to positions that required advanced degrees, but also a variety of other jobs, such as “welders, cooks, crane operators, baristas and dishwashers, as well as information technology specialists, software engineers, business analysts, rocket engineers and marketing professionals.”
Musk celebrated the dismissal on Friday, calling the suit an "insane case of lawfare" against SpaceX.
"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," he wrote on X.
"In other words, it was both illegal to hire asylum seekers and illegal not to hire asylum seekers!!" he added.
SpaceX sued to block the DOJ's complaint, prompting a pause in proceedings to allow the court to examine both arguments.
The Hill reached out to SpaceX and the DOJ for further comment.
The dismissal comes as Musk helms President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) panel, focused on slashing government bureaucracy.
Musk faces criticism for DOGE’s efforts, especially those that have led to mass layoffs of federal workers, closures of entire independent agencies and access to sensitive information. Several lawsuits have been filed to challenge the layoffs and the access to federal government databases.
Updated at 11:36 a.m. EST
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